The Witch, the Wizard and the Sorcerer
by Dr Matthattan
Summary: Wanda Maximoff and Gandalf are brought to New York by Doctor Strange to help solve a long-standing mystery. What they find could portent humanity's destruction.
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer:** I recognise the story that I have written is based on the rights owned by Tolkien Enterprises, Marvel Comics and Studios, Warner Bros Entertainment and Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures. I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

* * *

28/01/2018

 **Chapter 1 – Introduction**

Hi everyone to the next instalment of the MTCU.

I won't deny this crossover is partly inspired by Sir Ian McKellen and Benedict Cumberbatch's casting as both Marvel and Tolkien characters. But it is more an opportunity to explore the group dynamics between three very different magic-users. Or at least quickly explore them before a Mad Titan's arrival just months from now.

The main points about this story:

1) Except for the first bit of Chapter Two, this story takes place just prior to _Thor: Ragnarok_ (I wonder if events in _Return of the Avengers_ explained Sif's absence?).

2) This crossover is a short story compared to my previous works – think one film rather than a trilogy.

3) Obviously, what the Scarlet Witch has been up to post-Civil War is entirely speculation on my part.

4) I try to avoid speculating on the plot of _Infinity War_ as much as possible.

5) The title is one of two nods in this crossover to C.S. Lewis.

As always, I look forward to your reviews and comments throughout.

Dr Matthattan

January 2018


	2. One on Ones

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

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28/01/2018

 **Chapter 2 – One on Ones**

 _Images flashed for what felt like an eon._

" _Let Steve know I'm ok," said a dark-haired man. "And tell him to give Sauron hell."_

 _A green-skin brute halted a monstrous flying machine with a single punch._

 _Scenes of a blond-haired god directing an array of energies through his hammer._

 _Squadrons of warrior-maidens upon winged horses opposed to a goddess with antler-like hair._

 _A mass constellation of stars spun rapidly overhead. Out of the depths of the cosmos spoke a small, still voice._

" _Complete your task."_

Olorin's eyes sprang open. The shock of being brought back to life saw him gasping for breath. The wisest of the Maiar had been returned to his exact place of death – atop Durin's Tower located on the summit of Zirakzigil. Laying on his back, Olorin's senses started returning. The first thing he felt was the blanket wrapped around his new human body. Olorin blinked as his eyes got used to the light. He seemed to be surrounded by a strange glass dome. The unusual shelter protected him from the fierce snowstorm raging outside.

"Easy, friend," a woman soothed him. "You've had quite an ordeal."

Startled, Olorin's gaze darted in the voice's direction. A bald middle-aged woman sat close by. She was stirring the contents of a metal pot hanging over a campfire. The woman wore a strange yellow robe and even stranger-looking medallion. Olorin's first conscious thought, however, wasn't about the individual taking shelter with him. It was remembering his terrifying cause of death.

"…Balrog," Olorin croaked.

The woman possessed a quirky sense of humour.

"Unlike you, still dead," she impishly assured.

Olorin was still too dazed to laugh. There were nonetheless signs his concentration was returning.

"Who…are..." he strained in response.

"I'm the Ancient One," the woman pre-emptively answered. "I was asked to look after you up here."

Olorin voiced his first coherent thought. "Asked by whom?"

"Lady Galadriel," the Ancient One replied. "We briefly met at her place."

The Lady of Light had used her mirror to locate Olorin's body. However, she didn't attempt to recover it sensing far greater powers at work. Fortunately, her mirror also showed Middle-earth had a powerful but benevolent visitor. A visitor also far more enigmatic than three others Galadriel had recently become acquainted with.

"You visited Caras Galadhon?" Olorin's vast memory and knowledge kept coming back to him.

"She invited me telepathically," the Ancient One confirmed.

Olorin closely pondered her answer. First, for a fleeting moment, he felt he was close friends with another telepath (his mind became clouded on the topic just as quickly). Second, he couldn't remember humans entering Caras Galadhon before. The corollary being the Ancient One had to be an extraordinary one to be personally invited by Galadriel herself.

"Did the Lady mention anything else?" Olorin tried finding out more.

A neat cloth-wrapped bundle was on the ground just feet away.

"Apart from the blanket," the Ancient One jutted her chin at it, "she asked me to give that to you."

Before too long, Olorin was strong enough to get back on his feet. He pulled off his blanket and hobbled over to examine the bundle's contents. The Ancient One respected his privacy by focusing on the soup she was cooking. The first thing that caught Olorin's attention was how the items were almost uniformly white in colour. This included an intricately smooth staff as well as scabbard for his old sword, Glamdring. Olorin left those aside for now. He first placed on the spotless robe and boots that had been provided. It was then the Maia discovered the colour white applied more profoundly than just the bundle's contents.

Olorin caught a glimpse of his reflection on the surrounding dome. His human body had not just been healed of all the wounds sustained against the Balrog. His hair was now as white as the snow falling outside.

" _Mithrandir_ ," he muttered.

"Pardon?" The Ancient One overheard.

"The Grey Pilgrim," Olorin both translated and reflected. "That's what they used to call me."

Olorin was sure he was known by another name that currently escaped him. Lost in thought, he touched the dome's surface. While it appeared like glass, it certainly didn't feel like it.

"What manner of sorcery is this?" Olorin thought aloud.

"We're in the Mirror Dimension," the Ancient One answered. "I did it to protect us from the elements and unfriendly eyes."

Olorin sucked in a quiet breath as he made the connection. His companion wasn't just human but a very powerful sorcerer. It had to be the reason Galadriel had asked her to help. However, this only raised another mystery. As one of the Istari, Olorin had travelled across the breadth of Middle-earth for centuries. He would've at least heard of a magic-user called 'Ancient One' by now.

"A useful spell," Olorin complimented her skill.

The Ancient One softly smiled recalling the other spells she used to get here. The Sorcerer Supreme used her sling ring to discreetly enter Galadriel's house. Not even Celeborn knew about the pair's meeting that lasted just few minutes. It was though Galadriel felt it safe if only she and Olorin knew about the Ancient One. The Sorcerer Supreme had no objections. The Masters of the Mystic Arts always tried keeping a low profile when carrying out their mission.

The Ancient One's thoughts ended as Olorin sat next to her by the fire. Olorin was surprised how comfortable the rocky ground felt. He presumed was another effect of the Mirror Dimension. Middle-earth's new White Wizard was then distracted by something he felt within.

Olorin placed a gentle hand on his stomach. "I feel – "

"Stronger?" The Ancient One assumed.

"Well, yes," Olorin admitted before his first display of humour since returning. "But I was actually going to say 'hungry'."

The Ancient One smirked. "The soup's ready then."

She poured a small bowl of soup from the pot before passing it to Olorin. He savoured its taste as the Ancient One poured herself one. The wizard had almost forgotten how much food was one of the great joys of his current form.

"It's very good," he thanked its cook.

"Vegetable Thukpa," the Ancient One informed what the dish was called. "It's an old recipe from Earth."

Olorin's eyes flashed in recognition.

"Earth!" he exclaimed. "I have friends from there!"

"Oh?" The Ancient One's interest was piqued. Kamar-Taj's records suggested this world had no visitors from Earth prior to the Sorcerer Supreme. Was this the reason for Galadriel's secrecy?

"They were helping our quest," Olorin recalled, oblivious to his companion's concerned undertone. "Steve and Bruce." Recent memories continued flooding back. "I'm also friends with the God of Thunder." Olorin glanced back proudly at the Ancient One. "He has magic hammer, you know."

The Sorcerer Supreme was outwardly poker-faced. Inwardly, she felt relief upon quickly deducing the identities of Gandalf's "friends". Galadriel certainly had to know they were here too – as well as her reasons for not asking the Sorcerer Supreme to aid this 'quest' as well.

"As much as I'd like to meet them," the Ancient One referred to the trio of Avengers, "I have to leave soon."

"Why's that?" Olorin responded in a tone of obvious surprise.

The Ancient One's answer hinted at why she had originally travelled to Middle-earth.

"I'm tracking an old enemy," she soberly explained. "Fortunately, this world's now safe from him. But many others are still vulnerable."

Olorin noted her tone. The Ancient One's tone left no doubt this enemy troubled her. The corollary being her enemy was vastly powerful as well.

"When?" Olorin enquired about her departure.

The Ancient One's tone lightened. "Tomorrow morning. Right after Gwaihir takes you to the Golden Wood."

"The Windlord," Olorin fondly remembered the mightiest of the Great Eagles.

"Galadriel will be waiting for you," the Ancient One continued. "Along with a special horse, apparently."

Olorin quickly narrowed down the identity of his likely steed. It had been so long since he'd last crossed paths with the Lord of the Mearas. The wizard reverted his attention to the latest friend who helped him through danger.

"I'm much indebted to you, Ancient One," Olorin thanked her.

"You're very welcome." She humbly accepted it before philosophising, "Acts of kindness are one of our best defences against evil."

"That's what I've always believed," Olorin firmly agreed. He paused before making a self-deprecating request; "So I hope you can indulge an old man once more – why are you called the 'Ancient One'?"

The Sorcerer Supreme softly laughed before replying, "Well, it's not my real name if that's what you mean…"

* * *

 **Novi Grad…Present Day…**

Two years had passed since the climatic battle between the Avengers and Ultron's forces. That battle had killed dozens of Sokovians and inflicted hundreds of billions of dollars in damage on their already impoverished nation. Sokovia was also where 117 nations agreed to an international accord aimed at regulating 'enhanced' individuals. The host nation had been one of the most eager signatories. One unforeseen outcome was turning Wanda Maximoff from national heroine to wanted criminal. While not hostile to the Scarlet Witch, Sokovians nonetheless believed their country could move on without her.

The bright sunny morning over Sokovia's capital reflected the mood of its citizenry. The city was abuzz from the noise of countless building and reconstruction projects. A series of tax breaks had attracted an influx of foreign capital and business investment. Ultron's leftover technology had seen Sokovia become home to a burgeoning hi-tech industry – best exemplified by the fleet of semi-autonomous robots assisting Sokovian Police with law enforcement. Nor was automation the only reason for the dramatic reduction in Sokovia's crime rate. A stronger and more transparent legal framework had also significantly curtailed the nation's previously endemic levels of corruption. And the two individuals Sokovians credited for the dramatic upturn in their nation's fortune were about to have a meeting.

The President of Sokovia was sitting at his desk alone in his office. Signing some official documents, Andre Mustarman looked every bit his nation's head of state. His trim black beard and distinguished features complemented his athletic six-foot frame. The President's pair of piercing green eyes helped project a naturally confident aura. Those eyes darted up after he heard a knock on the door. An aide opened it to allow Andre's brother in for their scheduled meeting.

Pavel was an inch shorter than his older brother. The other distinguishing feature Pavel possessed was his dark brown eyes. He waited until the door closed so they could speak in private.

"Your Excellency," Pavel greeted with exaggerated deference.

"Prime Minister," Andre similarly responded.

The pair knowingly laughed at their sarcastic display of pomp.

"After a year, you'd think we'd be used to being called that," Pavel mused about their landslide election victory.

"Speak for yourself, brother," Andre wryly disagreed. "Putting up with Secretary Ross during the accord negotiations entitles us to something."

Pavel smirked at the memory. The Ellis administration had wanted to claim as much of Ultron's technology as possible. The official reason was for purposes of safekeeping. Unofficially, it was for the purposes of the newly-formed Advanced Threat Containment Unit. Ross went into the Sokovia Accord negotiations confident. Participating nations agreed to banning artificial intelligence without hesitation. However, much to Ross's dismay, the Mustarmans convinced the United Nations that all remaining technology should remain in Sokovia. Andre persuasively argued Sokovia deserved some form of reparations from the Avengers (Tony Stark in particular) due to battle damage. In addition, unlike Sokovia, it was still uncertain if the highest levels of the US Government had been completely purged of HYDRA's influence. The only concession Ross obtained was Sokovia promising not to develop technology for military purposes. It came with stinging reminder delivered in front of the assembled diplomats.

" _Military research couldn't be furthest from Sokovia's mind, Mister Secretary," Pavel dryly stated. "Your Bio-Tech Force Enhancement project remains an object lesson to us all."_

"Scotch?" Andre interrupted his brother's recollecting.

Pavel gave a grateful nod. Andre walked over to a drinks cabinet before pouring a glass for each of them. The pair then sat down on opposite sofas facing each other. Each took a sip before getting down to business.

"So, how's our project looking?" Andre asked about their top priority.

"I'll be presenting the final funding bill to parliament this afternoon," Pavel replied. "We're looking at being online in a week."

One reason the Mustarmans made a potent duo was because of complimentary skills. Andre made an idealistic figurehead and orator whereas Pavel was adept at wielding political cudgels.

"Any potential delays?" Andre checked to be sure.

"Maybe one or two questions," Pavel dismissed their small number of political opponents. "But nothing that could stop us."

"We haven't got this far by being complacent," Andre gently reproached in warning.

"We have a greater advantage than our parliamentary majority," Pavel believed his boldness was justified. "Because of us, the whole nation now yearns for greatness."

The President reflected Pavel had a point.

"It's more than a yearning for greatness, brother," Andre both agreed and expanded. "It's about leading millions to a better world."

* * *

 _Wanda Maximoff stood on Ravenhill's summit wearing a flowing white gown. Before her lay an ethereal version of Erebor. The Lonely Mountain was ebony in colour while the grass in the valley had a bluish hue. Strangest of all, a purple aurora danced across the night sky. The Scarlet Witch then sensed someone come alongside her. She was pleasantly surprised by who it was._

" _Thorin," Wanda happily said his name._

 _The Dwarf King was fittingly clad in a regal white tunic. He friendlily smiled at Wanda._

" _Take back your homeland," Thorin told her._

Wanda woke in her darkened bedroom. She had been having the same and vivid dream for more than week. And she was no closer to figuring out what had triggered it.

 _Take back your homeland._

They were Gandalf's words to Thorin. Those words set in motion the quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon, Smaug. It was a quest the Scarlet Witch unexpectedly joined beyond anything she could have imagined. But a quest aimed at reclaiming _her_ homeland felt even more fanciful.

For the first time in centuries, Sokovia was free from both foreign powers and autocratic regimes. Sokovia was also a signatory to the accords that bore its name. The Scarlet Witch was currently a wanted fugitive even in the country of her birth. She and Pietro had fought ceaselessly for Sokovia's freedom well before gaining their powers. Now, the accords effectively classed Wanda Maximoff as a threat to the freedom of Sokovians. Wanda was more troubled than just the irony though.

Despite what she told Vision, Wanda didn't want people to be afraid of her. Being perceived as a monster invariably cursed one to lonely existence (Wanda still felt some residual guilt for Banner going missing). Not even Ultron wanted to live in his 'better' world alone. Indeed, the only monster Wanda had encountered who preferred solitude was Smaug. On Earth, however, the dragon for many was the Scarlet Witch.

Wanda released a sigh and tried going back to sleep. She hoped to be next woken by a Wakandan sunrise.

* * *

Fury cut a lonely figure sitting on a bench in the New Avengers Facility's main courtyard. The facility opened more than a year ago. Initially, Fury found it symbolic of the ongoing evolution of Avengers Initiative. Now, it felt like that project's mausoleum.

Various support personnel continued carrying out their duties. But there were hardly any Avengers left to support. Banner officially remained missing in action. Thor had sent no word since embarking on his quest to discover more about the Infinity Stones. Sif by all reports still resided in Middle-earth. Rogers and his allies (including Romanoff) remained wanted, their current whereabouts unknown. Stark spent most of his time with Rhodes's rehabilitation. Even Vision had almost human-like retreated into his shell. Indeed, since the Avengers' public and bitter civil war there had been no request from the UN to engage the services of those still considered legal.

Fury cast his brooding gaze on the white tree in the centre of the courtyard. It had been given to the Avengers as a symbol of their connection with the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. Fury remembered what the gift's presenter once told him.

 _You should feel immensely proud of being the one who set the Avengers on this path._

As fate would have it, the presenter was now standing alongside him.

"Director Fury," Gandalf respectfully greeted him.

"Gandalf," Fury curtly acknowledged.

Ultron's rims had been modified to act as both communications and transport between Earth and Arda. Vision acted as the interface in facilitating this. Gandalf arrived just minutes ago after the android opened the dimensional portal. However, the purpose of the White Wizard's remained unclear. The Director of the New Avengers Facility thought there could only be one reason.

"If you want the Avengers help," Fury sombrely warned, "you couldn't have come at worse time."

The wizard's expression was neutral.

"I'm actually here for two reasons," Gandalf informed. "The Avengers' aid isn't one of them."

Slightly surprised, Fury asked, "Why are you here then?"

The wizard sat next to him.

"First, I thought you might like someone to talk to," Gandalf offered.

Fury wasn't sure if it was magic. But there was something about Gandalf that made you want to confide in him. Did the wizard knew about his conversation with Stark in Barton's barn? In this case, Fury felt he was in the billionaire's place. Or maybe a fellow master strategist was simply offering a sympathetic ear.

"I remember starting the Avengers Initiative," Fury opened with. "It's easy bringing people together, even remarkable ones, to face a common enemy. Keeping them together in-between is what's hard." Fury paused before moving to recent events. "Even when they were friends, Cap and Stark still didn't see eye-to-eye. Maybe it was only a matter of time before they tore the Avengers apart."

"But that's not what's troubling you the most?" Gandalf inferred.

"The worst part was not being there," Fury referred to his absence at the time. "The feeling I could've stopped it from happening."

The White Wizard considered this a moment before releasing an empathetic sigh.

"I felt the same upon discovering the Fellowship broke in my absence," Gandalf revealed.

"Absence?" Fury quizzically challenged. "I thought you were dead?"

Gandalf modestly chuckled at being called out on his understatement.

"Indeed, I was," Gandalf conceded. "But I was absent nonetheless." The wizard's tone again became serious. "I thought my presence was what kept the Fellowship together. That was until remembering there are other forces at work besides the will of evil. The Fellowship had to be broken. Otherwise, Frodo would have never completed his task." Gwaihir picked up Gandalf like the Ancient One said. Upon arriving in Lothlorien, Galadriel told him about her private audiences with Frodo and Rogers. "And one-by-one the Ring would have destroyed us all – including your three Avengers."

"It wasn't a magic ring that turned the Avengers on each other here," Fury bitterly argued. "Just an angry man who knew how to push their buttons."

Zemo was both a cunning and resourceful operative. It stuck in Fury's caw that a mortal man nonetheless had devastated the Avengers far more effectively than supervillains the likes of Loki or Ultron had been able to.

"And in the end," Gandalf countered in prediction, "his efforts at division will fail for the same reason as the Ring's."

Fury gave him a baffled look. Zemo might now be serving multiple life sentences in a Vienna prison. At his trial, Zemo pleaded guilty saying he had achieved what he wanted. Looking around the New Avengers Facility, it was hard to disagree. Noting the look on Fury's face, the White Wizard shared his reasoning.

"Going separate paths isn't the same as abandoning one another," Gandalf pointed out. "Despite what happened at Amon Hen, the Fellowship ultimately remained true to each other. When great evil returns to this world, I also believe the Avengers will again stand as one to meet it."

"What makes you so sure?" Fury had to know.

Gandalf gave him a knowing look. "As one wise fellow once put it – because we'll need them to."

Fury smirked in recognition. It was easy to forget the Avengers were never a seamless team from the start. And yet, despite their conflict over the Sokovia Accords, all of them remained committed to protecting Earth and its people. Rather than destroying the Avengers, maybe Zemo's plan would ultimately result in the group being rebuilt stronger than before. Fury had read the Scarlet Witch's report about her time in Middle-earth. She said a conversation with Gandalf could rekindle your optimism within minutes.

"Thanks," an appreciative Fury acknowledged. "And if Stark calls me 'Nick', so can you."

"It's good seeing you again, Nick," Gandalf took up the offer in farewell. "But I'm afraid I must take my leave."

Gandalf stood and began walking away. With the wizard having turned his back, Fury suddenly remembered something important.

"What's the second reason you're here?" Fury called out after him.

Gandalf didn't turn around nor even break stride.

"I'm off to see a doctor," he said matter-of-fact.

This threw Fury more than anything else Gandalf said that morning.

"A _doctor_?" Fury didn't hide his confusion.

"Yes," Gandalf's voice started trailing off. "His voice is a bit like a dragon's I used to know…"

* * *

 **Olorin/Gandalf's coming back to life is different in the MTCU compared to canon. The main reason being I wanted him and the Ancient One to have crossed paths at least once. I nonetheless still wanted Fangorn to remain where he first remembered being called "Gandalf".**

 **Yes, the Ancient One could've teleported to Mount Doom with the One Ring. I can only repeat my argument in** _ **AoTR**_ **. Namely, Tolkien's key lesson about Sauron being destroyed by the courage of the lowly not the power of the mighty.**

 **Depending on the remaining Phase 3 films, Wanda being in Wakanda could ultimately prove supposition on my part. Her dream is also a nod to what now seems the likely location of the Soul Stone (and I thought Heimdall had it all the time).**

 **Fury and Gandalf's conversation was my way of placing the events of** _ **Civil War**_ **within the context of the MTCU. The Mustarman's manoeuvrings also incorporate plot points from** _ **Agents of SHIELD**_ **.**

 **And Vegetable Thukpa is a favourite Tibetan dish of mine.**


	3. Strange Visitors

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

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28/01/2018

 **Chapter 3 – Strange Visitors**

The New York Sanctum was about to have its first visitor since the defeat of the Kaecilius-led Zealots. A grandfather clock's ticking was currently the only sound throughout the building. The residents of 177A Bleecker Street stood waiting in its lobby. Strange and Wong were both wearing their tunics as Masters of the Mystic Arts. The former also wore the idiosyncratic Cloak of Levitation. However, Strange's thoughts were on the most powerful relic currently kept at Kamar-Taj.

"Would it be ok using the Eye of Agamotto to speed things up?" Strange asked his friend.

Wong couldn't believe his ears.

"You know what the Time Stone is capable of," he sternly reminded Strange. "Its power is nothing to be used trivially."

"So…I shouldn't have used it to get this week's winning lottery numbers?" Strange asked.

Wong's eyes widened in horror. It was the first rise of the day Strange had gotten from his favourite straight man.

"Just kidding," Strange casually assured.

Wong's withering look belied his inner exasperation. He recently showed Strange some ancient scrolls about the Infinity Stones from Kamar-Taj's library. Scrolls written by none other than Agamotto himself. What would it take for Strange to treat the most destructive power in the universe more seriously? Wong gathered his dignity before redirecting their topic of conversation.

"He'll be waiting then?" Wong said about their invited visitor.

"Apparently, he arrives precisely when he's needed," Strange recalled the Ancient One's descriptions.

"What are you first going to raise with him?" Wong wanted to know.

Strange's tone was nothing other than serious as he replied, "Getting our guest to talk. Otherwise, it'll be harder to solve what else we found."

"Our order has rarely sought outside help from anyone," Wong observed about its long history. "Few others have knowledge of the mystic arts. Even fewer understand it."

Strange once had an urgent request from Christine.

"Yeah, second opinions are a dime a dozen," he glibly agreed.

Wong didn't have time to shoot an annoyed glance. The grandfather clock melodiously chimed it was nine o'clock. Slipping on his sling ring, Strange reflected being dumped on Everest was about as steep a lesson one could get. He regretted the Ancient One wasn't alive to see how much he had progressed. Strange fluidly moved his hands, unimpeded by his injury. A bright spinning portal rapidly formed a few yards in front of him. It opened to a dense section of forest upstate. Strange had selected the spot so the sorcery to bring his visitor to the Sanctum went unobserved.

It was the first time Gandalf had used the mystical form of long-distance travel. He allowed himself a moment to admire its ethereal beauty. The portal resembled the pinwheel fireworks he launched on many summer nights in the Shire. Gandalf didn't feel the slightest bit anxious as he entered the portal. Strange closed it the moment the wizard crossed over to the Sanctum.

"Much obliged, Stephen," Gandalf had earlier been told what to call him. "You saved an old man quite a walk."

"I could've brought you here straight from Valinor," Strange reminded.

"I needed to talk to someone beforehand." Gandalf explained before absently reflecting, "Might also need to talk to someone afterward."

Noting this, Strange made introductions.

"Gandalf, this is Wong," he looked at his fellow resident. "Still just Wong?"

The White Wizard liked Strange's sense of irreverence. It reminded him of Tony Stark's.

"Don't let him fool you, Wong," Gandalf counselled as they shook hands. "Stephen spoke very highly of you in his message. I understand you oversee Kamar-Taj's library?"

Wong gave a rare smile. Gandalf had pointed out something important. The amount of playfully ribbing Strange directed at someone was often in direct proportion to how much he saw you as friend. It was also easy to imagine Gandalf as one of their order.

"I'd be honoured to show you it sometime," Wong conveyed his respect with a rare honour.

From what the Ancient One had said, Gandalf knew Kamar-Taj didn't exactly have an open-door policy when it came to visitors. Its collection of writings would at least have to be the equal of Elrond's.

"That's a very generous offer," Gandalf greatly hoped he'd be able to take it.

Strange had not forgotten when Wong first showed him the master's section.

"It comes with a horrifying story and threat on your life," he told Gandalf.

* * *

As Wong excused himself to check on something, Strange escorted Gandalf through the New York Sanctum. Gandalf couldn't help but cast an intrigued eye over the various artefacts and relics on display. It brought back memories of the Mathom-house in the Shire. Of course, no item in Mathom-house's collection was as powerful – and, by extension, dangerous – like those housed in the Sanctum. It saw Gandalf privately compare the Masters of the Mystic Arts' approach with the order he used to be part of.

The Istari had nothing like a network of mystical bases protecting Middle-earth. The Orthanc was probably the closest. Gandalf momentarily shuddered at the thought. With relics like the Sanctum Sanctorum's at his disposal, Saruman could have created things far more terrible than Uruk-hai or explosives. Gandalf's reflecting ended as he felt his staff being tugged.

"Leave his staff alone," Strange chided the Cloak of Levitation.

Gandalf lightly chuckled as the red cloak loosened its grip. The cloak whipped back its corner, seemingly in high dudgeon.

"Sorry, it's got a mind of its own," Strange apologised for his relic's behaviour.

The White Wizard kept revealing how much the Ancient One told him upon Zirakzigil. It included how Earth's sorcerers came to possess their relics.

"It's not surprising it chose you, Stephen," Gandalf assured no offence had been taken. "It's a maverick like yourself."

"Yeah, karma really blows," its wearer dryly agreed.

Strange gestured they sit on a pair of leather armchairs facing one another. Gandalf first leaned his staff against the wall. The wizard's host passed him a green cup as soon as they were seated.

"Tea?" Strange offered.

"Oh, yes please," Gandalf happily accepted it.

It was the first time Strange tried his power of transmutation with an outsider. Gandalf was served his favourite blend with a twist.

"Earl Grey…with a touch of honey," the wizard happily identified it after taking a sip.

"Just a trick I learnt from the Ancient One," Strange modestly took the credit.

Gandalf heard the sombre tone in Strange's reply.

"I miss Johanna as well, Stephen," Gandalf sympathised.

Strange's eyebrows shot up in realisation.

"Yes," Gandalf softly confirmed. "That was her name. She told me while we waited upon Gwaihir."

The last part was lost on Strange.

"No one at Kamar-Taj knew her name," he thought aloud about the Ancient One. "Mordo said she didn't talk about her past."

"That's not surprising," Gandalf reacted. "She was orphaned during the Black Death. One night, she tried breaking into the London Sanctum to find shelter. Its master could've easily thrown her out. Fortunately for all us, he instead saw a spark in her."

As the wizard took another sip, Strange was left reeling from the magnitude of what he had just learnt. Within in moments, Gandalf had divulged the Ancient One's name, age, and background. Not even masters like Mordo or Hamir had a hint of these things. Did the burden of being the Sorcerer Supreme make the Ancient One feel she could only confide to an outsider like Gandalf? The Ancient One's background caused Strange to ponder something else she long kept secret.

"Maybe that's why she drew on power from the Dark Dimension," he speculated aloud. "The Black Death was a global pandemic. It might have decimated the order…she might've needed centuries to rebuild it."

The White Wizard responded by segueing the conversation.

"I got your butterfly, Stephen," Gandalf referred to how Strange first contacted him. "What did you wish to show me?"

The pair were soon walking down a passage. Gandalf was informed the Sanctum was currently taking care of an uninvited guest.

"Wong found him in an alleyway two days ago," Strange explained. "Physically, he's fine. But his symptoms are consistent with severe trauma to the frontal lobe."

Gandalf gave the diagnosis a puzzled look. For Strange, some habits were hard to break. That included unconsciously using the jargon of his former profession.

"Near-vegetable," the ex-neurosurgeon clarified.

Noting this, Gandalf asked, "You're nonetheless certain he's from my world?"

Strange answered by opening the door to a small room. Wong was inside standing patiently. The individual he found two days ago was seated in an ornate looking wheelchair.

"Radagast!" Gandalf gasped in shock and recognition.

As Strange had diagnosed, Radagast was unresponsive. The Brown Wizard continued staring into space oblivious to the White's presence. Gandalf rushed up and crouched in front of his old friend. Radagast was clad in his old attire except his hat. It appeared Strange and Wong had washed his hair of any dry bird droppings. Radagast's eyes, though, were utterly devoid of life.

"Who else knows he's here?" Gandalf asked his hosts.

"You're the first," Strange answered.

Until now, Radagast's fate had been one of the War of the Ring's great unsolved mysteries. Radagast had been invited to the Council of Elrond but failed to appear. Scouts later reported there was no sign of him at Rhosgobel. Prior to departing for the Undying Lands, Gandalf's own search efforts had proved equally as fruitless.

"I looked everywhere for you," Gandalf softly spoke to Radagast for the first time in years. "What happened to you, old friend?"

The Brown Wizard's lips slightly twitched. Thinking it progress, Gandalf held his breath in anticipation at what those lips would say.

" _Dormammu_ ," Radagast whimpered.

* * *

The Brown Wizard had not said a word since uttering Dormmamu's name. Since then, Gandalf had been using his staff to free Radagast of the dark magic that had lobotomised him. Strange and Wong watched patiently as Gandalf cast an array of spells in a variety of Middle-earth tongues. The former held a slim hope the White Wizard's magic might succeed where his had failed. But after an hour of repeated spellcasting, Gandalf's patience was exhausted. His reaction was similar when confounded by the Doors of Durin.

"Oh, it's useless!" Gandalf sighed in frustration. "I've tried every spell I know."

The wizard's hosts had no doubts Radagast had been the victim of Dark Dimension magic. They also well knew just how hard such magic was to counter.

"None of our spells worked either," Wong indirectly sympathised. "And 'Dormammu' was the only thing he said."

Strange found the situation a combination of the old and new. A successful operation was usually predicated on an accurate diagnosis.

"We still don't really know what happened to him," Strange referred to Radagast. "There's nothing in the Ancient One's journal."

"She may not have even encountered Radagast," Wong postulated.

"Mm," Gandalf conceded it was possibility. "All the Ancient One told me was she stopped Dormmamu from attacking Middle-earth." Gandalf's brow furrowed as he reflected, "She said the Cosmic Conqueror was powerful. I had no idea how powerful until now."

 _Try meeting him face-to-face_ , Strange thought in comparison.

Gandalf furiously tried thinking how to break the impasse. He had known several brilliant healers throughout his existence. And Strange wasn't the first one from Earth he had known.

"Maybe we should look beyond spells." Gandalf prefaced before suggesting, "From what Bruce told me, Earth's knowledge of medicine is far more advanced than in my world"

Strange knew which "Bruce" was being referred to. It suddenly dawned on Strange that he and Banner had something in common. Both had dramatically upended their respective lives by self-inflicted accident. Part of Strange mused how to reconcile that with being called a 'genius'.

"Metro-General has all the toys a neurosurgeon could want," Strange answered he had already considered a medical solution. "But none of them could help in this case." Strange self-deprecatingly raised his hands. "Even if these didn't shake."

"I can't believe you brought me all this way for nothing," Gandalf expressed slight exasperation.

Strange turned his gaze back to their comatose 'patient'. Ironically, it was one of Radagast's symptoms that provided a faint hope.

"Him saying 'Dormammu' shows there's still a trace of consciousness," Strange deduced about the Brown Wizard. "We might be able to bring him back by stimulating it."

"How?" Wong argued. "Our spells have failed, and you've ruled out surgery."

"Open your mind, Wong," Strange wryly hinted.

Gandalf instantly made the inference.

"I think you brought me here, Stephen, in order bring you someone else," he knowingly put.

Masters of the Mystic Arts were accustomed to speaking in riddles.

"Another magic-user?" Wong assumed.

"Every little thing she does is magic," Gandalf fondly answered.

Another old habit of Strange's came to the fore.

"The Police, 1981, Side A – _Ghost in the Machine_ ," he recalled the song's release. "There a challenge round?"

* * *

It was late afternoon when Wanda arrived home at her apartment in Birnin Zana. The apartment was in the guest quarters of the royal palace. Wanda dropped her satchel bag onto the couch with a tired sigh. Fortunately, the benefits of living in the world's most technologically advanced nation included home comforts.

"Café latte, please," Wanda requested the apartment's interactive system.

A 3D printer in the kitchen automatically began brewing her favourite coffee. Wanda then turned on her transparent screen TV with a wave of her hand. She'd just caught the middle of WHiH's _Europe News_. She left it running the background as a chime indicated her coffee was ready. Wanda took an appreciative whiff before drinking. Whatever materials the printer used, they made Wakandan coffee to die for.

It had been several months since Rogers and his allies had been granted asylum in Wakanda. T'Challa had proven more than magnanimous to them. Apart from requesting they keep their location secret, he had made no demands on the group. All took the opportunity to heal the physical and mental scars from the Avengers Civil War. Being imprisoned on the Raft quenched any desire of Wanda's to simply mark time though. On that basis, Wanda had spent most of her exile as a psychology student at the University of Wakanda.

Wanda would be the first to admit not being naturally academic. Her chosen field of study was somewhat natural given her psychic abilities. But Galadriel had left a deep impression on her as well. The Scarlet Witch was a proven force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Wanda more wanted to use her powers though to counsel and heal others like the Lady of Light did. That included helping them deal with their fears. Much to Wanda's surprise, Wakandans didn't seem to fear her living among them.

The Scarlet Witch felt somewhat anxious her first day on campus. It was from not knowing if any staff or fellow students harboured any animosity towards her over the Lagos Catastrophe. They instead displayed the same forgiving and welcoming attitude as their king.

" _People forgot something in their rush to condemn you," T'Challa included himself among them. "Your actions saved the life of Captain Rogers and hundreds of others in the marketplace."_

 _For the Scarlet Witch, life was never a matter of transaction costs._

" _My actions still killed eleven of your people," she uneasily reminded._

 _Wakanda's ruler enigmatically smiled._

" _Trust me, Wanda," T'Challa assured about his fallen subjects. "None of them would tell you they regretted the exchange."_

Wanda sat down on the couch and pulled her tablet from her bag. With coffee in one hand, she began scrolling through the tablet's contents. Her latest assignment was on track to be completed by week's end. But she now faced a clash of schedule tomorrow night. Rogers's exiles were due to have dinner together. However, Wanda's university friends had invited her to a jam session that sounded very tempting. Wakandans often used holographic projectors when performing music. A jam session could produce a kaleidoscope of digital images and patterns bordering on the psychedelic.

" _Earlier today, Sokovia's President announced plans for a new world internet hub. Jackson Norris has the story."_

Christine Everhart's introduction instantly drew Wanda's attention. Norris's story opened with a montage of construction and business taking place around Novi Grad. Sokovia's capital had a quality Wanda never experienced whilst residing there – vibrancy.

" _Since the Ultron Offensive, Sokovia has staged a dramatic turnaround_ ," Norris's voiceover narrated the images. " _Rising from devastation to having Europe's fastest growing economy. That turnaround continued this morning with Sokovian President, Andre Mustarman, announcing the most ambitious project in his country's history_."

Wanda quietly sucked in a breath as footage of the President's media conference was played. The conference had been held outside in a large courtyard of the castle HYDRA and Ultron had both used as base. Andre spoke in English given the large international press contingent.

" _In recent years this place has been a factory of horrors_ ," he started with a rhetorical flush. " _From now on, it will be at the centre of human progress. Days from now this castle will be home to the Omniter. With twice the speed and capacity of the Nexus; the Omniter will revolutionise internet traffic across the globe. Offering countless new opportunities in business, education healthcare and scientific research._ "

Wanda's initial reaction was twofold. First, given it was where she gained her powers, Wanda tried not taking the 'factory of horrors' remark personally. Second, Sokovia's likely revenue stream from this 'Omniter' would make Thror's treasure hoard look like pocket change. She speculated if it was part of the reason the conference was being held outside. Filming inside major internet exchanges (including the Nexus) was highly restricted for both commercial and security reasons. WHiH instead ran a montage of the Mustarman brothers.

" _Sokovia's transformation almost parallels that of the Mustarman's_ ," Norris's voiceover resumed. " _Abandoned as penniless orphans; Andre and Pavel grew up to establish one of the world's largest investment banks, making themselves billionaires in the process_. _Their election twelve months ago to Sokovia's highest offices marked the latest chapter in their extraordinary 'rags to riches' story._ "

Like nearly any Sokovian, Wanda knew that biography of the Mustarman's excluded some important details. The brothers had returned to Sokovia only a few years ago. As young men, Andre and Pavel's growing wealth inevitably attracted the greedy attention of Sokovia's former dictatorship. The pair's refusal to part with any of it in the form of corrupt payments quickly marked them for death. However, on the morning they were to be arrested, the brothers had seemingly disappeared without a trace. International humiliation followed for Sokovia's autocrats later that afternoon. Andre and Pavel popped up on television in the UK where they were granted asylum. Despite residing in London for almost two decades, the Mustarman's remained heroes to many Sokovians. Unlike Sokovia's then ruling elite, at least the brothers had not gained their wealth by exploiting their countrymen. WHiH's story resumed playing the elder's media conference.

" _In rebuilding our country, Sokovians have proven their greatness_ ," Andre exalted the citizenry. " _We now invite the whole world to join us on the road to somewhere special._ "

Andre's final remark caused the Wanda to gulp the rest of her coffee. The remark wasn't just like how Maria Hill once described Sokovia. Ever since the Lagos Catastrophe, the Scarlet Witch had become somewhat a taboo subject among Sokovians. It was if the country's recent history had been rewritten. Wanda didn't begrudge her fellow Sokovians their current serendipity. It being portrayed as simply the result of the Mustarmans waving a magic wand rankled with her though. She wondered if anyone had been tending Pietro's headstone. Wanda's ruminations ended after spotting something out the corner of her eye.

A golden spark flickered in the middle of her apartment. More sparks quickly began to follow. Wanda was initially puzzled. Since when did Wakandan homes experience faulty wiring? Puzzlement turned to concern as the sparks rapidly took the form of a spinning portal. Wanda stood up into a fighting stance. If enemies had created this portal, they'd discover exile had not made the Scarlet Witch any less powerful. The red mists swirling around Wanda's fingers dissipated as a beloved friend and mentor stepped through the portal instead.

"Hello, Wanda," Gandalf kindly greeted her.

"Gandalf!" Wanda happily exclaimed.

She immediately rushed up to him. They had not seen each other since Gandalf and Bilbo's surprise visit to the New Avengers Facility. The pair renewed their friendship with a deep hug. No matter how bad Wanda felt, Gandalf's embrace always comforted her. And the last twelve months had been particularly anguishing.

"I've missed you," Wanda quietly said.

"As have I, Wanda," Gandalf replied the feeling was mutual.

After the pair loosened themselves, Wanda felt compelled to ask the obvious.

"Um, how did you find me?" Wanda had to know.

Strange had used a spell to find the Scarlet Witch. Gandalf imagined Pippin laughing uproariously at how he had obtained the spell's main ingredient.

"Let's just say it cost me hair," the wizard grumbled about being plucked.

Noting this, Wanda then gestured at the portal.

"Where does that go?" she asked.

"To a safehouse in New York," Gandalf intoned.

Gandalf's use of 'safehouse' gave Wanda pause. It implied the wizard had allies besides those at the New Avengers Facility.

"Why are you in New York?" Wanda tried finding out.

Gandalf was uncharacteristically to the point. "Radagast somehow wound up there."

The wizard was outwardly reserved. But his underlying concerns didn't escape Wanda's telepathy.

"He's hurt," she sensed aloud.

"Trapped in an unnatural coma," Gandalf stonily detailed.

The Scarlet Witch's response was reflexive; "Is there anything I can do?"

To her surprise, Gandalf smiled. It was from him remembering the Quest of Erebor.

"Ever Wanda the Scarlet," Gandalf compared with faint pride. "Always willing to help without having to be asked or hope of reward."

"Well, can I at least get changed first?" she ribbed in mock offence.

The wizard knowingly nodded. As Wanda went to her bedroom, Gandalf looked outside through her apartment window. Birnin Zana was truly a magnificent city of Men. Not just in terms of its technological wonders. But its people also seemed to share in an abundance of freedom and prosperity. Elrond long believed Men were weak. Wakanda's capital emphatically demonstrated that race's strength. Gandalf's reflecting ended as Wanda returned. Her attire was both new and familiar. It was like what she wore at the Battle of the Six Armies.

"That does bring back memories," Gandalf complimented it.

Wanda's outfit was from a different battle she felt far more ambivalent about.

"I last wore it at Leipzig," she uneasily replied.

Gandalf gave a subtle nod of understanding before changing the subject.

"All set?" he checked Wanda was ready to leave.

"Just one more thing," she told him to wait.

Unbeknown to Gandalf, the Scarlet Witch had sent out a telepathic message while changing. Middle-earth had taught her at least one thing about royalty. Even the most hospitable ruler expected guests to respect their authority.

"I got your message, Wanda," T'Challa said upon entering her apartment. "I've only a few – "

The Black Panther halted in shock upon seeing Gandalf followed by the spinning portal.

"Gandalf, this is King T'Challa of Wakanda," Wanda quickly acquainted the pair. "I didn't want to leave without telling him."

Gandalf was considered a master diplomat by all who knew him. He quietly admired how Wanda grew into the role as part of the Company. In this case, Wanda was effectively asking T'Challa's permission to leave, even if he couldn't really stop her. The White Wizard added a courtesy of his own.

"Your Royal Highness," Gandalf addressed Wakanda's ruler with a deep bow.

T'Challa gave a curt nod of respect in return. The courtesies he had just been shown weren't the only reason for his gracious response.

"I'm honoured to finally meet you," T'Challa told the wizard. "Captain Rogers speaks very highly of you." His eyes then twinkled at the other individual present. "Though nowhere near as highly as Wanda."

The Scarlet Witch momentarily blushed at the Black Panther's charm. Gandalf moved the save the former from any embarrassment.

"I still apologise for entering your lands without so much as your leave," he apologised to T'Challa.

Wakanda's ruler displayed his dry wit.

"I should congratulate you," T'Challa mused to Gandalf. "No foreigner has got this far into Wakanda without being detected. But I must first ask why you're here."

"A friend of ours has fallen victim to a powerful enchantment," the wizard spoke for the Scarlet Witch also. "Wanda is probably the only one who can release him."

T'Challa nodded at the portal. "That leads to where your friend is?"

"A place very safe from prying eyes," Gandalf pointedly emphasised.

T'Challa read between the lines – any comings or goings from Wakanda would be unnoticed. That just left one other question.

"What of the other Avengers here?" T'Challa asked.

Rogers was among the Fellowship who participated in the defence of Helm's Deep. Gandalf met with the six of them in the battle's immediate aftermath. He told them the final engagement against Isengard wasn't about force of arms.

"Tell Steve this is a matter of wizards and magic," Gandalf advised. "On no account are they to come after us. He'll understand."

The Black Panther contemplated all he had been told. T'Challa felt assured enough that nothing would be linked to Wakanda if he allowed the pair to leave. It was their reason for leaving that ultimately swayed his decision though.

"Gandalf," he began, "I'm reliably informed you believe tiny acts of kindness and love is what keeps the darkness at bay."

Wanda and Gandalf shared a knowing smirk. The former also knew about the Winter Soldier's current stasis.

"To me," T'Challa continued, "one such act is helping others find peace. It's why I've ordered my people to help Captain Rogers's friend. And it's why you both have my blessing to go and help yours."

Gandalf felt Wakanda's greatness reflected that of its king. It was pity one couldn't directly travel between Minas Tirith and Birnin Zana. If only because Aragorn and T'Challa would likely get along very well. Another of Gandalf's mentees had come see the latter as more than the Black Panther.

"Thank you, T'Challa," Wanda humbly thanked him as a friend.

She and Gandalf gave him a deferential bow before facing the portal.

"After you, Wanda," the wizard politely gestured.

The Scarlet Witch did so without hesitation, excited to try this form of magical travel. Her escort was momentarily halted from following. Like nearly everyone; the more T'Challa had come to know Wanda, the more he came to like her. His hands being tied by international politics was more frustrating than normal then.

"Gandalf, Wanda is still a wanted fugitive," T'Challa warned. "I can't intervene if she's found. Not even if others send their whole armies after her."

His jaw dropped at Gandalf's response.

"Let them try," the wizard ominously intoned.

* * *

The portal closed upon Gandalf's return to the New York Sanctum. Wanda arrived moments before. Their point of arrival was by the Sanctum's fourteen-foot oculus. Wanda gave an awed smile at its intricate glasswork. Her initial impression of the interior was it being somewhat reminiscent of Elrond's library. And just like her visit to Rivendell, Wanda quickly crossed paths with the powerful magic-user who protected it.

"All good?" Strange checked with Gandalf.

The wizard nodded. Strange had respected the pair's privacy while they were in Wakanda. The Scarlet Witch thought she was hearing things as his voice had the faintest resemblance to Smaug's.

"Wanda Maximoff, Doctor Stephen Strange," Gandalf happily introduced them.

Wanda's eyes lit up in recognition at the name. Her course included a unit on basic neurochemistry. She once read paper by one of the world's foremost experts on the topic.

"Stephen Strange, the brain surgeon?" Wanda had to know if it was the same one.

Strange's response indicated he had found his true calling in life.

"Ex-brain surgeon," he casually corrected. "You've heard about me?"

"I once read a paper of yours," Wanda confirmed. "I'm studying psychology."

Strange considered this a moment. "I thought you'd be sick of mind games."

* * *

 **I wanted to give T'Challa a cameo with** _ **Black Panther**_ **just weeks away. Though I don't have any plans for Wanda to cross paths with 'Bilbo' (aka Everett Ross).**

 **Strange's method of finding Wanda was obviously inspired by** _ **Ragnarok**_ **.**

 **As 'Nexus' is a Latin participle, so is 'Omniter' with it roughly meaning "all-path").**

 **The Ancient One's age is based on an interview given by the screenwriter of Doctor Strange. I used it to put my own spin on her background. And 'Johanna' is my meagre tribute to SL's late wife, Joan.**


	4. Lost and Found

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

* * *

18/02/2018

 **DanSolo119** : You're right about Jadis but the second nod's in this chapter.

 **Omegashark18** : I plead complete ignorance about that comic's release. In terms of Pre- _Infinity War_ , the MTCU butterfly has just started flapping its wings.

 **Nari Serpens** : I salute how you connected the Stones' by object. I wonder if "H" meant something to do with "Heart-shaped herb"?

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Lost and Found**

Wong wasn't offended he and the Scarlet Witch had the quickest of introductions. Ever since entering the room, her attention had almost been solely on Radagast. The Brown Wizard's state filled Wanda's heart with pity. She first encountered Radagast when he burst in front of the Company on his rabbit-driven sleigh. Like Galadriel, Wanda came to treasure the eccentricities of the nature-loving wizard. And just as Rogers broke her out of the Raft, Wanda was determined to break Radagast out of his sorcerous coma.

The Scarlet Witch was first told about Radagast's condition. From what Wanda had been told about Dormammu, entering the wizard's mind was also potentially dangerous to her. Strange, Gandalf and Wong watched silently as she cautiously went about the task. Wanda walked up to Radagast and bent slightly towards him. She couldn't pick up any thoughts even this close. Wanda took a steadying breath before gently touching Radagast's temples…

 _The Scarlet Witch immediately found herself in total darkness. Her thoughts went back to reading Radagast's mind for the first time. Wanda found her current surroundings every bit as unnerving as Necromancer's shadowy form. More similarities with what Radagast encountered at Dol Guldur quickly followed._

 _At first, things were silent. Wanda then heard a multitude of murmurs all around her. The murmurs were in an alien tongue she couldn't understand. Those murmurs grew increasingly louder, feeling like a multitude of souls were closing in on her. It was then the Scarlet Witch discerned a faint cry._

" _Help," it softly pleaded._

" _Radagast!" Wanda immediately recognised who it was. "Where are you?"_

 _Wanda's question went unanswered. She winced as the murmurs turned into a cacophony. The Scarlet Witch broke contact at the equivalent of thousands screaming into her ear._

Wanda stumbled back a step. Concerned she was about to fall, Gandalf rushed up and steadied her from behind. The wizard's reaction bordered on the paternal. If Thor was like a son to him, Wanda was like a granddaughter.

"I'm ok," she quickly assured all present.

Relaxing his grasp, Gandalf's voice was still laced with concern.

"What did you see?" he asked Wanda.

"It was pitch black," she replied.

All present knew telepathic contact was not simply visual.

"Any sign of Radagast?" Wong enquired.

Wanda tried coming up with a metaphor, "It's like…listening for a whisper at a rave."

"We talking house, techno?" Strange deadpanned.

"I take those things are very loud?" Gandalf hinted the metaphor was lost on him.

"Sorry, Gandalf," Wanda apologised before nodding at Radagast. "But his thoughts are drowned out by the magic." She then thought of a comparison the wizard would be familiar with, "It's even worse than Thorin's dragon-sickness."

The troubled look in Gandalf's eyes curbed any desire from both sorcerers to ask for an explanation. Strange rubbed his chin as he pondered the situation.

"What are you thinking?" Wong noticed.

"That it might be a while before we can pull him out of it," Strange gave his prognosis about the Brown Wizard.

The word 'pull' caused the Scarlet Witch to have a flash of inspiration.

"That's it!" she deduced aloud.

"What's it, Wanda?" Gandalf enquired with renewed hope.

Wanda's inspiration came from what she had learnt as a psychology student. Even Wakandan medical science agreed that physical objects could help stimulate memory. And that stimulation didn't necessarily have to be visual.

"I need something," Wanda began.

"Many relics are kept here," Wong assumed that was her meaning. "Their purpose is equally varied."

"It's not a relic," Wanda informed him, Strange and Gandalf. "The Sanctum doesn't even have it…"

* * *

Wong selflessly volunteered to get what the Scarlet Witch requested. Wanda, Strange and Gandalf stayed with Radagast to keep an eye on him. The trio nonetheless opted to have a short break while waiting for Wong to return. Strange and Wanda sat next to each other on a chesterfield. The former impressed the latter with a transmuted café latte. Gandalf sat facing them on a simple wooden chair smoking his pipe (after Strange was assured pipeweed wasn't like Earth tobacco).

While waiting, Gandalf and Wanda learned more about her host. Strange talked about the series of events that lead to him joining the Masters of the Mystic Arts. In turn, Wanda revealed how she first crossed paths with Radagast. The conversation quickly expanded to be about her adventures with the Company, including when she and Bilbo first entered the Lonely Mountain.

"You're kidding," Strange couldn't believe what he'd just been told.

"I'm not joking, Stephen," Wanda insisted. "There were _hills_ of gold and gems!"

"Thror's treasure hoard was the greatest in all Middle-earth," Gandalf added in support. "It's what drew Smaug to it."

"Why do dragons need treasure by the way?" Strange quizzically asked. "I'm pretty sure Smaug didn't have to worry about overdraft."

Banking terms aside, many of the Free Peoples would have simply answered 'greed'. But Gandalf believed the dragon desire for gold was more an echo of their creator.

"Dragons can't make anything of value themselves," the wizard theorised. "So, they instead take from those who can. I do not mourn Smaug's passing. But I sometimes wonder if taking Erebor was simply about finding something that could fill the emptiness he felt inside."

Strange considered this a moment before concluding, "Two years ago…I would've spent the treasure until I ran out of Lamborghinis to crash."

Strange's self-deprecation elicited understanding chuckles. Even Gandalf got the joke having been told about the accident.

"The only thing I bought with my share was a guitar," Wanda said.

"So, the remainder is still upstate?" Strange referred to the New Avengers Facility.

The Scarlet Witch gave fatalistic shrug, "After Leipzig, the government probably confiscated it."

Wanda wasn't a materialistic person. And she still proudly wore Elrond's ring upon her finger. But her share of the treasure represented how much she valued being one of the Company. That treasure being treated like a criminal's asset would have felt particularly bitter. Fortunately, others realised what the treasure truly meant to the Scarlet Witch.

"No, they haven't, Wanda," Gandalf assured. "Vision guards it in your absence. He even polishes the White Gems of Lasgalen when he gets the chance."

Wanda slightly blushed at the inference. Such was dwarven craftsmanship, the White Gems of Lasgalen didn't need polishing to retain their shine. Vision's action was symbolic of how much he missed Wanda. It meant his feelings for her could almost be considered…human. Her pondering ended as Wong finally returned.

"Did you get it?" Wanda kindly asked.

Wong held up a small cage. Inside was a black mini-lop rabbit purchased from a local pet store. The Librarian of Kamar-Taj didn't consider the task beneath him. But nor was he entirely happy about it.

"Fifty dollars for a rabbit," Wong grumbled about the cost.

"Well, the Ancient One didn't teach how to pull one out of a hat," Strange glibly dismissed the complaint.

Wanda got the rabbit out of its cage. Strange's use of the word "pull" gave her an idea how to revive the Brown Wizard. Radagast's preferred mode of transport reflected his eccentric nature. While Rhosgobel rabbits were native to Middle-earth, Wanda was gambling Earth breeds weren't too dissimilar in touch.

The others watched as Wanda gently placed the rabbit on Radagast's lap. She then guided his hands onto the creature's fur. Wanda kept her hands atop Radagast's to ensure he continued touching the rabbit. The rabbit's nose twitched at the countless animal scents emanating off the wizard's robe.

"Come on, Radagast,' Wanda softly implored him.

With moments, there was a slight movement in Radagast's fingers. Gandalf, Wong and Strange all sucked in a breath. None dared say anything least the breakthrough was fleeting. The Scarlet Witch felt more confident given her telepathy.

"That's it," she sensed an increasing stir of consciousness.

Radagast's eyes started to flicker. It was the first crack in the Dark Dimension magic that had engulfed him. Wanda willed a stream of psychic energy out of her fingertips. The stream snaked into Radagast's ear. It represented how Wanda could now 'hear' him more clearly. More streams began to follow. They weren't just in aid of Radagast though. Strange, Gandalf and Wong quickly found themselves surrounded in a red mist. It was to allow the trio to witness the memory Wanda now yanked from the blackness within Radagast's mind.

 _Radagast stepped outside Rhosgobel with staff in hand. His Rhosgobel rabbits were untethered from the sleigh they pulled. The eight rabbits were resting and snacking freely on the grass outside Radagast's home. It would have been generous to call the grassed area a 'patch'._

 _Mirkwood appeared even more dark and sinister than when the Company traversed it. The twisted trees had no leaves of any kind. Giant spider webs could be seen in every direction. Worse, Sauron's sorcery felt much stronger than six decades ago. Rhosgobel was like a tiny island surrounded by an ocean of evil. And the Brown Wizard knew it was only a matter of time before that evil swallowed his beloved home. It made his planned journey all that more important._

" _Come on you lot!" Radagast beckoned his rabbits. "Elrond's called a council and I don't want to be late!"_

 _The rabbits usually came to their master without hesitation. Instead, one of them stood up and started thumping its leg. Radagast knew it signalled danger was close._

" _What is it?" he asked the alert rabbit._

 _No rabbit answered as they immediately sprinted away in fright. Within moments, the fabric of space ripped open where they had been standing. The rip quickly turned into a giant-sized hole. Revealed was the face of a titanic and malevolent entity with a pair of blazing purple eyes. Those observing the memory immediately knew or guessed who it was._

" _I AM DORMAMMU!" Dormammu boomed at the wizard. "I NEED SERVANTS TO OPEN THIS WORLD TO MY DIMENSION."_

 _Radagast had never been so frightened in his existence. Not even confronting Sauron within Dol Guldur came anywhere near close. Submitting to such evil was thus all that more unthinkable._

" _No," Radagast trembled in response._

" _THEN DIE!" Dormammu raged._

 _The Brown Wizard bravely lifted his staff to defend himself. An energy blast shot out of the Dormammu's mouth and hit the staff dead centre. The wizard was flung backward as his staff exploded into countless tiny fragments. Radagast's hat fell off after his head painfully hit the ground. However, the portal to the Dark Dimension also began to contract. As the Cosmic Conqueror strained to re-open it, Radagast took his chance and fled into the forest. His escape was short-lived._

 _Radagast just got beyond the tree line when Dormammu briefly stabilised the portal. The former was subjected to the latter's power to warp physical reality. The branches of a nearby tree turned into tendrils. They stretched down and violently pulled Radagast off the ground. Before the wizard knew it, the tendrils constricted around him. His whole person was entombed within the branches. The only exception was a tiny gap he could peak out of – straight into Dormammu's fearsome visage. The Free Peoples would now pay for Radagast's refusal._

" _I LAID WASTE TO THE EAST," Dormammu boasted before killing him. "THE WEST WILL NOW FOLLOW."_

 _Before Dormammu could strike, a new portal suddenly opened. The Cosmic Conqueror's face clenched with rage as his arch-nemesis stepped out from it._

" _I said this world doesn't belong to you, Dormammu!" the Ancient One declared._

 _At the time, the Brown Wizard had no idea who she was. Radagast tried calling out but was muffled by the tendril wrapped around his mouth. All he could do was witness the opening salvos of the titanic battle that now took place._

 _Dormammu fired a barraged of energy spikes at his opponent. The Sorcerer Supreme summoned a pair of mystical shields to deflect them. As Dormammu struggled to maintain his portal, the Ancient One made her move. Radagast's eyes widened in shock as the Ancient One opened the Eye of Agamotto. To his mind, he had never seen such a bright emerald. Its light and power had to at least be the equal of Silmarils. For Radagast, the shocks had just begun though._

 _The Ancient One summoned a time spell glyph with her right hand. The glyph began to turn clockwise as the Ancient One began sealing the portal. Dormammu refused to cede the battle. He unleashed a surge of Dark Dimension energy that the Ancient One struggled to contain. Streams of black magic resembling a malevolent smog began pouring out the portal. The opening to the Dark Dimension slowly began widening again._

 _In a daring move, the Ancient One collapsed her glyph into a concentrated ball of time. She flung it at Dormammu like a cannon ball. A bright and ethereal explosion of mystic energy immediately followed. However, Radagast never got to witness the Cosmic Conqueror being driven back. The explosion caused one of the black magic streams to hurtle directly towards him. The wizard's eyes whitened in silent terror as the stream crashed upon the tendrils like a wave. The good news for Radagast was it resulted in the tendrils being instantly dispersed. The bad news was he now found himself plummeting through the multiverse._

 _The Brown Wizard thought he had been cast into the Void. Radagast screamed in terror as he kept falling through the various dimensions. The dimensions soon turned into a blur of colour and sound as he fell at an ever-increasing rate. Relativity came into effect as months passed by like minutes. As it approached its end, Radagast's journey took on the form of a near-death experience._

 _The blur of colour curved into a dark tunnel leading into a bright light. It exited to a place far from empyrean. Radagast crashed into a pile of garbage bags in a dank New York alleyway. His last memory was of Wong standing over him._

Those who had witnessed the above found themselves back in Radagast's room. All four were shaking from the experience. It wasn't just from its sheer vividness and intensity. What happened to Radagast had disturbing individual parallels as well.

To Wanda, Dormammu easily surpassed Ultron as the most terrifying being she had encountered. Gandalf shuddered thinking it would be better for Arda to be ruled by Sauron than consumed by Dormammu. Glimpsing the Dark Dimension again was an uncomfortable reminder to Wong of his initial 'death' defending the Hong Kong Sanctum. As for Strange, Radagast's unplanned journey through the multiverse brought back memories of his own. Though, unlike Radagast, at least his was part of an object lesson.

"Everyone all right?" Wong asked being the first to recover his wits.

The others nodded. Wanda saw her hands were still on Radagast's. Having not been part of the telepathic link-up, the rabbit also hadn't moved from his lap. The rabbit softly clicked its teeth in contentment. It was due to being petted by the lightest finger movement. The Scarlet Witch immediately glanced up at Radagast.

"Look!" she directed the other's attention.

Radagast erratically blinked as if woken from an uncomfortable slumber. His eyes darted around trying to make sense of his surroundings. The first thing that caught his attention was the rabbit. Radagast increased his petting given the soft touch of its fur. The rabbit clicked its teeth louder in appreciation. The Brown Wizard smiled as he began to remember caring for other animals. He next glanced up at the young woman facing him. The smile she gave him was like the sun bursting through the clouds. This not being Middle-earth; that same smile dispersed a long-standing cloud from Radagast's memory.

"Wanda," he tentatively remembered her. "Wanda the Scarlet…"

The Scarlet Witch happily nodded as her friend's thoughts became more coherent.

"You brought me back?" Radagast assumed.

"It wasn't just me," a modest Wanda directed his attention to the others in the room.

Radagast was completely unfamiliar with two of them. The third though was like and yet unlike.

"Gandalf?" Radagast expressed his uncertainty.

The White Wizard found the situation not dissimilar to when Théoden had been freed of sorcerous possession.

"Breathe the free air again, my friend," Gandalf repeated his words of confirmation in the Meduseld. It made the Brown Wizard's reply all that more ironic.

Radagast gave his fellow Istari's changed appearance a confused frown, "Did you and Saruman swap colours?"

* * *

Radagast was soon back on his feet. Wanda's telepathy counselled his mental state was still somewhat fragile though. It was why Gandalf simply answered, "Something like that," about his change in colour. Strange and Wong just briefly introduced themselves also. Telling the Brown Wizard about the Masters of the Mystic Arts (let alone being in New York) would have been too much to begin with. The first step was to help Radagast regain his strength.

Like how Gandalf felt after returning to life, Radagast's ordeal left him quite hungry. The group then reconvened in the Sanctum's kitchen. As Radagast ate at the table, the others quietly spoke out of earshot. The one exception was Wanda who chose to sit across from Radagast. Taking care of someone was always more important to her than planning or strategy. Standing a few yards away; Strange, Gandalf and Wong were quietly piecing together what the Avenger's telepathy had revealed.

"The Sorcerer Supreme didn't even know Radagast was there," Wong said about the Battle of Rhosgobel.

"Which explains why there's no mention of him in her journal," Strange spelled out the corollary. "It also confirms what she said about Dormammu having short window of opportunity."

Rogers believed Gandalf personified the word 'polymath'. But the wizard had also been on something of a learning curve since crossing paths with the Avengers. That included improving his knowledge of the dimensional barrier previously surrounding Arda.

"Well, the vortex was highly unstable to say the least," Gandalf postulated before linking it to what Dormammu last told Radagast. "Dormammu might have had enough opportunity to destroy a region. Bringing Arda into the Dark Dimension was another matter entirely."

"Dormammu needed zealots like he did on Earth," Wong inferred from what else the Cosmic Conqueror said.

"Which leads me to believe what happened to Radagast explains another disappearance," Gandalf confirmed. "The Blue Wizards travelled to the East to rally opposition to Sauron. Both vanished without a trace."

"Wait a minute," Strange recollected reading about the eastern lands of Middle-earth. "The Ancient One said she stopped Dormammu in…Rhun, I think?"

"Yes," Gandalf confirmed the name. "When?"

"Centuries before what we saw," Strange referred to Radagast's memories before returning to the Ancient One's journal. "Anyway, what she found there sounded like the apocalypse – magic cults, human sacrifice, wholesale destruction. Nothing about blue wizards though."

The Blue Wizards never returned from their journey east. It resulted in much debate among the Free Peoples if the two of them had successfully fulfilled their task. Easterlings fought for Sauron up until his downfall. But those forces were a fraction of their supposed reserves of manpower. Gandalf believed the success or failure of his fellow Istari was now a moot point. The Easterling's numbers during the War of the Ring was likely due to their population being devastated by Dormammu hundreds of years prior.

"Meaning they'd been destroyed before her arrival," Gandalf grimly concluded why the Blues' had disappeared.

The White Wizard inwardly mourned the loss of his two colleagues. He then learnt the Masters of the Mystic Arts were still ignorant about an important aspect of the Istari.

"Were there any other wizards?" Strange sincerely asked.

The White Wizard gave a puzzled frown.

"There were only five of us," Gandalf answered. "Why?"

Meanwhile, Radagast had almost finished his meal. He'd been served a bowl of mushroom soup at Wanda's suggestion. The rabbit was on the table next to him contently munching on a carrot. Wanda kept a straight face as she waited for the wizard to be surprised. Radagast swallowed his last mouthful only to see the bowl refill by itself.

"What a marvellous spell!" Radagast happily exclaimed about the transmutation. "I have to learn it sometime!"

"That makes two of us, Radagast," Wanda laughed in agreement.

"Two of us," Radagast repeated before remembering more about the Scarlet Witch. "You had a friend…" The Brown Wizard's eyes suddenly lit up, "Vision! Extraordinary chap!" Radagast then innocently enquired, "How is he these days?"

Wanda was spared an awkward conversation as the rest of the room joined them.

"How many servings have you had, old friend?" Gandalf friendlily asked about the bowl's contents.

"I don't think I'll tire of enjoying it, Gandalf," Radagast indicated how much he relished the taste.

"That was my reaction to the Ancient One's soup," Gandalf agreed in understanding.

The Brown Wizard gave the name a blank look, "Ancient One?"

"The one who saved you from Dormammu," the White clarified.

"You know her?" Radagast was surprised to hear this before requesting, "Would you be able to introduce us?"

Wanda's eyes briefly shut due to her telepathy. Strange and Wong's neutral expressions belied how much they still grieved over the Sorcerer Supreme.

"I am sorry, Radagast," Gandalf broke the bad news. "I'm afraid she's dead."

The Scarlet Witch sensed a wave of sadness wash over Radagast.

"Oh," he reacted circumspect. "I hoped to thank her."

One of the Ancient One's pupils comforted both Radagast and himself.

"She'd say you're very welcome," Strange offered on her behalf.

Gandalf segued the conversation, "Radagast, Stephen and Wong are part of the same order as the Ancient One. They'd like to ask you some questions if you're up to it."

The Brown Wizard felt at least he had a chance to indirectly thank the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Yes, of course," he immediately agreed.

"Before Dormammu arrived," Strange began, "did you see or hear about any new or unusual magic-users?"

"Unusual?" Radagast asked for clarification.

Strange described the symptoms as if he were still a medical practitioner, "Dark circles around the eyes, cracked skin, red symbol on the forehead."

"Certainly not," Radagast answered the initial question. "What sort of magic-user is that?"

"Servants of Dormammu," Wong informed him. "Using his power destroys one body and soul."

Radagast shook his head in disbelief, "Only a fool doesn't know the price of serving a dark lord."

Gandalf discreetly smirked at the remark. Radagast had unwittingly called Saruman a 'foolish fellow'.

"What about the forest?" Strange resumed questioning. "Had any part of it vanished or been completely destroyed?"

The earlier images of Mirkwood were now verified to be no mental distortion.

"It was already lifeless before Dormammu," Radagast recounted trance-like. "Sauron's power was rising. It was strong…very strong…"

Radagast shot up from his chair. Startled like everyone else, the rabbit bolted across the table. Wanda psychically directed the poor creature away from the table's edge into her comforting embrace. Similarly, Gandalf placed a steadying hand on the shoulder of his fellow wizard.

"What is it, Radagast?" Gandalf tried finding the sudden cause of alarm.

"We have to get back, Gandalf!" an agitated Radagast insisted. "Sauron was about to go to war!"

Gandalf planned to debrief the Brown Wizard about the said war later. Radagast's memory had thrown those plans into disarray.

"Sauron is no more," Gandalf succinctly assured. "His shadow has been lifted forever."

Radagast couldn't believe his ears. When he was last in Middle-earth, Sauron's victory over the Free Peoples had seemed all but assured.

"How?" Radagast simply asked.

"The Ring was cast back into Mount Doom," Gandalf downplayed his own role. "Thanks to two brave hobbits."

Petting the rabbit, Wanda was appalled by what she sensed to be Radagast's reaction. Far from being elated at Sauron's downfall, the wizard felt a burning shame.

"And I did nothing to help," Radagast absently observed.

"It wasn't your fault, Radagast!" Wanda insisted straight from the heart.

"I was nothing more than a silly old wizard," his voiced quivered in disagreement. "I failed everyone."

Pity and humility compelled Radagast's fellow Istari to tell him he was wrong.

"No, Radagast," Gandalf comforted before asking for forgiveness. "It was we who failed you. For even doubting you stayed true to your task." He paused before forecasting, "All Valinor will rejoice upon your return."

The Brown Wizard's despondency ceased instantly. His heart slowly began to soar as he realised what Gandalf was implying.

"You mean?" Radagast dared not hope.

"You can finally go home," Gandalf gently smiled in confirmation.

Of all those present, only the Scarlet Witch fully knew the joy Radagast felt at these words. That joy still contained an element of uncertainty. The wizard might be unaware he was in New York. But he well knew this house wasn't part of the Grey Havens.

"Um, how do we get there?" Radagast asked.

The Sanctum's residents had no further questions to ask him.

"Allow me," Strange volunteered.

He immediately summoned a portal a few feet away. Radagast paid no heed to the magical circle spinning in front of him. All his attention was on where it led to. Before him lay a field of tall golden wheat swaying in a gentle breeze. Radagast smiled in recognition at the Pastures of Yavanna who he served as a Maia.

"Are you coming too, Gandalf?" he asked before leaving.

"You go on ahead, my friend," Gandalf encouraged. "We'll see each other again soon enough."

Radagast noticed Wanda was now standing alongside him. She held out the rabbit.

"I thought you might like to take him," the Scarlet Witch told the zoolinguist.

Radagast happily took the rabbit into his arms. In Valinor, he would at least have something from Wanda the Scarlet.

"You truly are one the kindest people I've ever met," Radagast remarked in farewell.

Wanda gave him an appreciative kiss on the cheek, "Tell everyone I said 'hi'."

The Brown Wizard received a series of mental images. They revealed he and Wanda had mutual friends residing in the Undying Lands. He gave her request a nod of confirmation.

"Come on, Clive," the wizard told the rabbit. "You've some new friends to meet."

And without looking back, Radagast the Brown travelled through the portal. Before closing it, Strange gave the wizard an inimitable farewell.

"Way to go, Catweazle," Strange quietly mused.

Wong and Gandalf gave him a confused look. Understanding the reference, Wanda rolled her eyes in mild exasperation. Part of her wondered if 'Strange' was simply a variation of 'Stark'.

"So, that's it?" Wanda checked if there were any loose ends.

"Ah…not exactly," Strange awkwardly confirmed.

"Stephen and Wong need to show us something, Wanda," Gandalf summarised what the pair had privately told him. "And it's not here."

Outside Wakanda, the Scarlet Witch was justifiably concerned about being seen in public.

"Where then?" she cautiously asked.

Strange arched a wry eyebrow at her, "You ever been to Kathmandu?"

* * *

 **At least there's no uncertainty surrounding Radagast's fate in the MTCU. And I some how doubt the Ancient One would ever chose to confront Dormammu in the Mirror Dimension.**

 **I support the theory espoused by some that Tolkien's dragons are motivated by more than greed. Like Ultron and Stark (ouch, my arm), their attitudes and behaviour reflect Morgoth's.**

' **Clive' was the second reference to C.S. Lewis. And some readers will have noticed my nod to a tv program from childhood. RIP Geoffrey Bayldon.**


	5. Bound Together

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

* * *

20/03/2018

 **Steve993** : Deepest condolences on your recent loss. And there's certainly more than a couple of chapters to go.

 **Anonymous** : Hard question to answer given mithril isn't the strongest metal in Tolkien's writings (IMHO it's tilkal). But I reckon Sauron would have been happy losing a few more fingers in exchange for having Wakanda's level of technology.

 **Omegashark18** : I tend to compare Morgoth with the character of Satan in _Paradise Lost_. While both are unquestionably evil, they are also psychologically complex. I've high hopes Josh Brolin's portrayal of Thanos in _IW_ will be another such villain.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Bound Together**

With Radagast safely home, those who aided him departed on their own journey. The four of them left the kitchen for another part of the Sanctum Sanctorum. The Scarlet Witch had been assured travelling to Kathmandu wouldn't result in her being seen in public. However, she needed assurance about a related matter that was far more important.

"So, if the Sanctums protect Earth," Wanda enquired, "what's protecting Arda?"

The Masters of the Mystic Arts' knowledge about the multiverse was considerable. But that knowledge was still vastly outweighed by what they didn't know. Not even the Ancient One had attempted a grand unified theory about how dimensions interrelated. For one thing, not every world required a network of mystical bases to shield it from the Dark Dimension.

"The Sorcerer Supreme had a vast repertoire of powerful spells," Wong supplied an educated guess. "Ones only she had knowledge of."

Strange inwardly shuddered at this. It was he who discovered the Ancient One secretly drew power from the Dark Dimension. Strange suspected those powers were not limited to 'only' immortality and reality warping. In a paradoxical twist, did the Ancient One use another form of Dark Dimension magic to protect Arda as well?

"Whatever magic the Ancient One used," Gandalf commented, "I think we can safely assume it's still working."

"Why's that?" Wanda wanted to know the reason for his confidence.

"Dormammu wouldn't pass up a free lunch," Strange answered in dark humour.

The group reached a pair of double doors that gracefully opened by themselves. A shimmering doorway marked their passage to Kathmandu. They walked through it to a dimly-lit chamber.

"Welcome to Kamar-Taj," Strange casually told the non-sorcerers.

Night-time silence greeted their arrival in the House of Wisdom. Although the Master now responsible for training students sometimes liked privately reading here until late.

"Hamir?" Wong called out from experience

There was no response. It seemed all Kamar-Taj's residents had retired for the evening. Gandalf noticed several bookshelves in a large room directly ahead. Part of him wanted to immediately scour the books and scrolls they contained. It was then the wizard noticed the chamber had two other pairs of double doors facing opposite.

"I take those lead to the other Sanctums?" Gandalf inferred.

Wong respectively pointed at each of them, "That one leads to Hong Kong, that to London."

By contrast the Scarlet Witch's attention was on the waist-high pedestal in the middle of the chamber. Its design was even more baroque than Radagast's wheelchair. However, Wanda was less focused on the pedestal and more on the item resting atop it.

"Is that the Ancient One's necklace?" Wanda identified it from Radagast's memories.

"The Eye of Agamotto," Wong confirmed as the group gathered around it.

"And you use it to fight Dormammu?" Wanda followed up with.

"I guess you could say that," Strange enigmatically replied.

Wanda's telepathy told her Strange was not lying. But he and Wong were also withholding something very important about the Eye. And that withholding was somehow related to her. Sensing no ill-motives, Wanda refrained from probing their minds. Not to mention the pair would probably know the moment she tried. Strange used the pause in conversation to direct the group to why they were here.

"Want to see something else of Agamotto's?" he perked up.

Strange directed Gandalf and Wanda's attention upward. Floating directly above the pedestal was a large metallic orb. The two visitors smiled in awe as the orb's surface transformed into a world map. It was like all Earth's continents and cities being lit up at night.

"We use it to monitor the shield cast by the Sanctums." Wong explained its purpose before pointedly adding, "As well as monitor for mystical threats."

The latter saw Wanda and Gandalf's attention immediately return to their hosts.

"After Radagast showed up," Strange revealed, "we checked for any similar traffic."

All knew he meant other arrivals from Arda through the multi-verse.

"And?" a concerned Gandalf prodded.

Strange was curt, "We found one."

All but two of the 'city' lights went out. New York's remained to indicate where Radagast had appeared. The orb then rotated across the Atlantic before coming to rest on a faint point of light in Eastern Europe. The Scarlet Witch's eyes widened in recognition.

"Novi Grad!" Wanda gasped at the location.

"What did you find?" Gandalf immediately enquired.

Strange and Wong exchanged an awkward look before answering.

"A problem," the former prefaced.

"Each point of arrival contains a trace of mystic energy," the latter detailed. "Novi Grad's is much weaker than New York's. It prevents us from finding the exact location."

The non-sorcerers understood the explanation but remained concerned about Novi Grad. Gandalf was desperately trying to think who from Arda was now on the loose in Sokovia.

"Why would it be weaker than Radagast's?" the White Wizard asked, privately theorising it could be a non-magic user.

The Ancient One taught magic to countless students throughout the centuries. But nearly all those students would agree her greatest lesson to them was humility. That included a previously arrogant neurosurgeon.

"I don't know," Strange admitted without shame. "The only way we'll find out is by going to Novi Grad."

Wanda quietly caught her breath in understanding. By 'we', Strange did not mean just Gandalf and himself.

"You want someone who knows the city?" she knowingly put to him.

Strange was confident of keeping Wanda's presence in Novi Grad a secret. The prospect of being sent back to the Raft, no matter how remote, would be difficult for anyone to shake though.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Strange acknowledged it was her choice.

"We'll respect whatever you decide, Wanda," Gandalf weighed in about any obligation she felt.

The Scarlet Witch had vowed not to be controlled by her fears. The thought of returning to Sokovia nonetheless troubled her. Wanda was not too concerned about her own safety if discovered. Apart from herself, she would be travelling with two powerful companions. Wanda's main anxiety was the prospect of fighting a second civil war. Only this time she would be pitted against her fellow Sokovians. Being deemed a national traitor would make a bitter mockery of all Wanda had lost while fighting for Sokovia's freedom. It was then she remembered something.

 _Take back your homeland_.

Maybe it was just a dream. Given the second arrival, Wanda couldn't believe it was coincidence either. Smaug took the Lonely Mountain to possess its treasure. Perhaps Sokovia's new found prosperity had attracted similar evil. In such an event, doing nothing was not an option for the Scarlet Witch. She would not let Sokovians be driven from their home like the Dwarves of Erebor. And if her dream was a message from beyond the grave, at least Thorin would be with her in spirit.

" _Du Bekâr_ ," Wanda announced her decision.

"Pardon?" Wong thought it was Sokovian.

"It means Wanda's coming with us," Gandalf translated while giving her a knowing look.

"Great news in any language," Strange both thanked and commented. "A couple of things at the sanctum and then we're good to go."

The doors to New York immediately opened. Gandalf and Wanda assumed some minor preparations were needed before leaving. As they departed Kamar-Taj, the two Company members reminisced about those not present.

"As Bilbo would say," Gandalf mischievously told Wanda, "I'm quite ready for another adventure."

Wanda gave a telepathic rejoinder. _Let's hope Strange is easier to look after than thirteen dwarves_.

The pair quietly chuckled at how often they pulled Thorin and his followers out of trouble. Strange made to follow but was halted for a private word.

"Stephen," Wong simply said before nodding at the Eye. "You're not taking it?"

"Agamotto said it's not a good idea putting two Infinity Stones close together," Strange effortlessly recalled.

Technically, Wanda did not have the Mind Stone in her possession. But its energies strongly flowed through her. Until he studied more of Agamotto's writings, Strange felt it was better to err on the side of caution. Kamar-Taj's Librarian was just glad he seemed to be getting through to Strange.

"So, you did read what I gave you," Wong approvingly concluded.

The sorcerers shared a private joke of their own as they left for New York.

"Yeah," Strange agreed. "For once, the warnings came before the spells."

* * *

Strange had not planned just using magic to keep a low profile. Going about unnoticed also required something of a change in appearance. He and Wanda were now clad in fashionable streetwear as they waited upon Gandalf in the lobby. Given she was the most famous Sokovian in the world, Wanda also wore a silk headscarf. The Scarlet Witch absently held a pair of sunglasses as Strange cast a spell. There was a flash of orange light as a small wooden box appeared in the palm of his hand.

"What is that?" Wanda quizzically asked.

Strange showed her the top of the box. It had a face resembling a compass.

"It won't find the location," Strange explained its purpose, "but it'll at least point us in right direction."

Wanda cautioned on a related matter after Strange tucked the "compass" into the pocket of his leather jacket.

"I try keeping up through the news, Stephen," she began. "Novi Grad's very different to two years ago. I don't know how much of a guide I'll be."

"You still know the language," Strange answered it wasn't about being a street directory. "And if it comes down to it, people we can trust."

"Assuming they still trust me," Wanda countered.

"Good thing you're a mind reader," Strange wryly observed.

The Scarlet Witch smirked at his wit. Strange's sense of humour was beginning to grow on her. It was then Gandalf and Wong joined them after walking down the stairs. The former was dressed in a sports coat and cloth cap. Gandalf also had a cane for a walking stick. It was the first time the wizard ever wore trousers. Not that he was happy about it.

"I look like a hobbit!" Gandalf grumbled at his attire.

"You're very welcome," Strange glibly responded.

Wanda bit her lip from laughing as Gandalf gave Strange a withering look.

"It's not Middle-earth, Gandalf," Wanda tried placating him. "You can't go out in public with your sword and staff."

"I appreciate that, Wanda," Gandalf replied. "But why can't I wear my robe?"

Strange was enjoying having a second straight man.

"Well, you might've got away with it if our trip coincided with a papal visit," he mused.

"A what?" Gandalf was more confused by this than what a rave was.

With some regret, the Scarlet Witch opted to cut short the entertainment.

"Anything else before we go?" she asked Wong.

"Nothing." Wong said before graciously adding, "Other than good luck."

"Thank you, Wong," Wanda gave in reply for all his help.

The White Wizard gathered his dignity before shaking hands with Wong.

"This isn't farewell, my friend," Gandalf assured him. "I'm keener than ever to visit the library given what I saw of it."

"Consider it done," Wong magnanimously confirmed his earlier offer.

Strange opened a portal to Novi Grad. He followed Wanda and Gandalf into it. But not without saying goodbye to the New York Sanctum's other resident.

"Later, Beyonce," Strange said before closing the portal behind him.

Now alone, Wong gave a forlorn sigh, "Just to go one day without being called that."

* * *

The Office of President of Sokovia came with the trade-off common to all elected representatives. The more powerful the office, the less free time for its holder. Andre's daily schedule was invariably booked down to the minute. His usual daily routine was a stream of appointments and meetings with policy work and administration filling in the gaps. However, in a rarity, events allowed him the luxury of a twenty-minute break.

Andre was in the residential suite of the Presidential palace. He had a quick shower and was now changing into a dinner suit. Tonight, the President was hosting a visiting delegation from the Non-Aligned Movement. Several delegates were from war-ravaged nations attempting to rebuild. They were keen to replicate Sokovia's success in that regard. Its President was half-tempted to advise their people would soon be offered something far greater.

Andre looked in his bedroom mirror to adjust his black tie. He suddenly froze mid-act as a tense feeling came over him. It was like a ghostly presence had entered the room. One that told him Sokovia's territorial integrity was being violated. Violated by a threat far more dangerous than any military incursion.

Before the President could act, a portal opened in the middle of his room. Andre was not surprised by the portal nor by who walked through it.

"Did you sense that?" asked a worried Pavel.

The brothers knew only one thing could have caused the disturbance they felt moments ago.

"The Masters of the Mystics Arts," Andre confirmed. "They're here."

* * *

Strange's portal exited to an empty stairwell of Novi Grad car park. The three companions walked down a flight of stairs before stepping outside onto a footpath. Early evening had descended upon Sokovia's capital. Pedestrians walked past the trio oblivious to their identity. The Scarlet Witch inwardly felt relieved upon sensing no one recognised her. Her telepathy easily sensed it wasn't due to her disguise though.

A buzz of excitement seemed to be permeating throughout city. Its residents were eagerly counting down the next 36 hours. For then the Omniter would finally be operational. Many Sokovians saw it as their national equivalent of the Apollo program. World attention on Sokovia was increasing by the moment as launch drew close. The Omniter would not only guarantee their long-term prosperity. It marked a decisive break from the past where Sokovians were at the mercy of foreign powers. Instead, they would now be able to shape humanity's destiny. Strange's thoughts were on directions of a different sort. He looked at his compass.

"This way," he pointed in the indicated direction.

Wanda began walking with Strange and Gandalf either side of her. The footpath soon led them through a bustling pedestrian mall. Four years ago, Gandalf hurried with Sif through the pre-dawn streets of London. He'd also observed Birnin Zana and New York at distance. But Novi Grad was the wizard's first true experience of Earth urban life. It inevitably resulted in comparison with that of his own world.

Gandalf was by now accustomed to Earth's technological advantage. Novi Grad's air and noise pollution would take more getting used to. What struck Gandalf most though was the hectic pace of its citizens. Nearly every Sokovian was seemingly in a rush to get somewhere. Even in Minas Tirith, people would often stop in the street to talk with one another. The opportunity to catch up with friends and neighbours wasn't just simple courtesy. It unconsciously built community spirit. Gandalf wondered if it was due to Middle-earth's population being considerably smaller than Earth's. Novi Grad's resembled an amorphous mass moving against a backdrop of non-descript buildings and garish lights. Many of those lights were shop signs for merchants with names like "Prada", "Seiko" and "Apple". Gandalf glanced at the Scarlet Witch immediately left of him.

"Is it very different to what you remember?" the wizard tried reconciling what she had previously said about Novi Grad.

"This street used to be a war zone," Wanda confirmed. "Some believe it's haunted given all the people killed."

The Masters of the Mystic Arts monitored for all sorts of paranormal threats. A former member once investigated what Wanda referred to.

"Mordo said there wasn't enough astral energy for ghosts," Strange casually recounted his report.

His two companions immediately halted. Strange discovered it was not due to what he'd said. Gandalf and Wanda had spotted something on the other side of the mall. An armoured van was parked in front of a bank. Its driver was carting into the bank several strongboxes stacked on a hand trolley. Guarding the driver were a pair of Sokovian robots. Despite the national crest emblazoned upon the chest, their design was too close to that of an Ultron Sentry for Wanda and Gandalf's comfort. The Scarlet Witch quickly discovered a startling difference.

"I…I can read them," she quietly gasped about the robots.

"I thought you could only read living minds?" Gandalf was just as surprised.

"I can't explain it," Wanda tried making sense of what her telepathy was picking up. "They're words. _Unad…Min…Unad…Min, Min, Min -"_ Wanda's eyes widened in recognition, "That's Sindarin!"

"For those of us without Google Translate," Strange dryly hinted.

"A form of Elvish, Stephen," Gandalf roughly understood his request. "In this case, just two words – 'Nought' and 'One'."

One of Earth's most brilliant minds noticed another language.

"Binary numbers," Strange deduced.

"Isn't that what they use to program machines?" Wanda checked.

Strange nodded. A theory formed in his mind why Wanda was sensing the robots' "thoughts". He drew on one of the Ancient One's first lessons to explain it.

"Source codes," Strange confirmed before jutting his chin at the robots. "Theirs has a special ingredient."

The White Wizard knew what Strange was alluding to.

"Magic," Gandalf named it in agreement.

The trio moved on least they draw robotic attention. That attention included triangular drones resembling Redwing patrolling overhead. Strange gave the drones a cursory look before quietly comparing the unexpected visitors from Arda. Radagast had arrived in New York practically comatose. Whoever arrived in Sokovia was already casting spells on advanced technology – the upshot being they had to be more powerful than Radagast. It made finding their point of entry even more imperative. Upon reaching Novi Grad's main square, Strange's compass slowly began to twitch.

"Wait a minute," Strange requested they halt again.

Wanda didn't ask why. Her attention was on the middle of the square. A tall marble plinth had been erected not long after the Ultron Offensive. It listed the names of all who had fallen during the Battle of Sokovia. Atop the plinth was a bronze statue of Quicksilver in mid-stride. The Scarlet Witch was far from touched at how her brother had been immortalised. It was due to the plinth's main inscription.

 _TO THE GLORIOUS DEAD_

Wanda curtly shook her head in disapproval. Her telepathy found Pietro's last moments anything but glorious. Quicksilver did not regret sacrificing himself. But his overwhelming feelings were shock, pain, and fear. His greatest fear was not death. It was his sister would now be alone in the world. Wanda recalled how the dwarves toasted her brother that night in Bag End. They certainly admired his heroism. However, their admiration was in the context of a precious life callously cut short. Sokovians by contrast had turned Pietro into an idol.

"That's weird," Strange commented.

It took Wanda a moment to realise what he was talking about. Strange was giving his compass a baffled look. Its needle was spinning erratically to all points of the compass.

"Something's interfering with it," he showed Wanda and Gandalf.

The wizard was immediately on guard.

"Wanda?" he hinted.

The Scarlet Witch stretched out with her telepathy. Hundreds were in the square including robots and drones. None of them had a trace of hostile intentions.

"Nothing," she reported before releasing an involuntary yawn.

There being no immediate danger, Gandalf concerns had a change of priority.

"Wanda, you're tired," he empathised.

"Well, we've crossed a few time zones," Wanda agreed in good humour.

Gandalf smiled at this. The three magic-users could return to the Sanctum Sanctorum. However, none wanted to leave Sokovia while the second arrival was still on the loose.

"We should find a place for the night," Gandalf suggested. "Make a fresh start on the morrow."

"Good luck finding a room anywhere," Strange dryly observed.

Wanda and Gandalf followed his gaze. A large HD screen had a timer counting down the seconds to the Omniter's launch. A similarly large throng of international media was using the screen as backdrop as they filed their reports. The inference being all hotels and motels were likely booked out. Fortunately, one of Strange's reasons for inviting the Scarlet Witch provided a solution.

"How about with someone I trust?" Wanda knowingly put to him.

* * *

The Ultron Offensive had left many Sokovians homeless. Consequently, new accommodation had been the priority during Novi Grad's rebuilding. That included several modern apartment blocks. A lift chimed open in one such block. Zrinka and Costel stepped out on floor of their apartment. After finishing work, the former had collected the latter from football training. Costel was rapidly gaining in height on his sister. His growth spurt was currently intertwined with his greatest passion.

"I'm just tired of playing midfield all the time," Costel vented about his usual position. "I'm not short anymore."

The teenager was football-mad like nearly all Sokovian boys his age. Zrinka had learnt some finer points about game for when Costel confided in her.

"You're still the fastest player on your team," she patiently encouraged. "Without you, the ball would struggle to get out of defence."

As Zrinka opened their apartment door, Costel thought of a way to get around his coach.

"Can your boss order I play forward?" he slyly suggested.

"I'll ask him," Zrinka chuckled at her brother's cheekiness.

She closed the door after following Costel inside. After turning on the lights, both were stunned to see three intruders standing in their living room. More stunning was who was one of the intruders.

"Hi, Zrinka and Costel," Wanda simply greeted them.

Strange found the pair with the same incantation he used to find Wanda. Unlike Gandalf, Wanda didn't mind the slightest about giving a strand of hair. If only because how quickly a close friend's shock turned into exuberance.

" _Wanda!_ " Costel excitedly rushed up and embraced her.

The Scarlet Witch unhesitatingly returned the gesture. The sight reminded Gandalf of when Frodo jumped into his cart at Eastfarthing wood.

"I can't believe how much you've grown!" Wanda told Costel after loosening themselves.

The teenager gave a slight shrug of embarrassment. He had something more important to tell Wanda.

"I've been looking after Pietro's grave," Costel informed her.

Having regained her wits, a proud Zrinka added, "He tidies it every week."

Such kindness meant more to Wanda than any statue. At least two Sokovians had not forgotten Pietro was a beloved brother.

"Thank you," Wanda softly expressed her gratitude.

Her companions moved to introduce themselves.

"I'm Stephen," Strange was first. "Sorry for letting ourselves in. We didn't want anyone spotting Wanda."

"It's ok." Zrinka assured before asking him, "You're not an Avenger, are you?"

"More a private investigator," Strange heavily fudged his profession and mission. "Wanda's helping me with a missing persons case."

Wanda mused to herself Strange could give some pointers to Balin about creating a credible cover story. She then sensed another member of the Company inadvertently threatened to blow Strange's.

"This is Professor John," Wanda pre-empted Gandalf introducing himself. "He's helping too."

Gandalf was straight-faced. Though his inner confusion at the Scarlet Witch's lie was plain to her telepathy.

 _How many other people on Earth are called 'Gandalf'?_ Wanda gave her reason.

The group soon had dinner together. Given it was the first she'd seen Wanda in years, Zrinka made something special. Wanda felt Wakandan technology still couldn't match the taste of home-cooked chicken paprikash. After dinner was finished, Strange cleaned the table as Wanda helped Zrinka load the dishwasher. The eldest and youngest attendees excused themselves for different reasons.

Gandalf stepped out of a glass sliding door onto the apartment balcony. He'd come outside to smoke his pipe (Wanda warned him the interior had things called 'smoke detectors'). The wizard found Costel seated at a small table using his tablet.

"I'm not disturbing you, young Costel?" Gandalf politely checked.

The teenager shook his head.

"Just homework," Costel slightly grumbled at the display. "I can't figure out how far the rocket will fly."

The wizard glanced at the problem in question. It was about using basic trigonometry to calculate distance. Still, such calculations could prove challenging to even the best students.

"Well, I've launched a rocket or two in my time," Gandalf modestly stated. "Let's see if I can help…"

Wanda and Zrinka each held a glass of white wine as they entered the living room. They looked outside through the balcony door. Gandalf was seated next to Costel going over the tablet's contents. The teenager nodded in understanding as the wizard instructed him about the equations on display. Zrinka would readily admit her brother wasn't the most academic of students.

"I've never seen Costel that interested before," she observed aloud. "John has to be a very good teacher."

"The best," Wanda answered in agreement.

Zrinka picked up the inference, "What did he teach you?"

As one of the Company, the Scarlet Witch believed her most important lesson had not been dissimilar to Bilbo's.

"That there's more to me than I know," Wanda said before redirecting the conversation. "I really appreciate you letting us stay the night."

"Costel and I are just glad to see you again," Zrinka replied it was no favour. "We won't tell anyone you were here. Not even if Pavel fires me."

Wanda was startled by what her telepathy sensed.

"Pavel Mustarman?!" she couldn't believe it.

Zrinka nodded, "I'm his Executive Assistant."

Part of Wanda felt enormously proud about her friend's appointment. Providing high-level assistance to a Prime Minister was no small professional feat. However, it was a job that required complete loyalty to one's superior. Zrinka faced worse than unemployment if the Mustarmans found out she hosted the Scarlet Witch. Harbouring a fugitive Avenger was a criminal offence under the Sokovia Accords. And unlike T'Challa, Zrinka didn't have the benefit of diplomatic immunity.

"I didn't know," Wanda apologised for putting her in an awkward position. "If I did, we wouldn't have come here."

As far was Zrinka was concerned, her hospitality was the very least she owed Wanda.

"Your brother saved my brother's life," Zrinka responded. "You can _always_ come here."

Strange remained in the kitchen by himself. He didn't clear the table just to be helpful. It was also to get around the magic interfering with his compass. Strange had brought with him a map of Novi Grad. He pulled it out of his jacket before folding it out on the table. Unlike Thror's map, it contained no magical properties. Strange faced a different challenge with his. He was unable to cast the required spell in New York. The caster had to be in the city of the object that he or she was looking for.

Strange magically teleported the compass's needle onto the middle of the map. With a surreptitious wave of his hand, the needle started to twitch. The needle zipped along the map's surface before springing upright on its point. The general location of the second opening from Arda was revealed.

"City cemetery," Strange murmured.

* * *

The Omniter resembled a series of large storage rings in a neatly stacked column. Its location was a dimly lit chamber of Novi Grad's castle. It was the very chamber Stark had discovered the Leviathan corpse more than two years ago. The chamber was never without a complement of technical and security personnel. Despite it being almost midnight, the chamber was currently a hive of activity. Computer and software engineers began subjecting the Omniter to the first of a final series of tests. None were aware Sokovia's Prime Minister had secretly joined them.

Pavel was standing in the Mirror Dimension. He had not come to the Omniter's chamber to watch proceedings though. The Mustarmans had been hit with a late and unexpected crisis. Andre said they'd meet at the chamber once the state dinner was finished. A portal opening near Pavel announced his brother's arrival. Sokovia's President got straight to business.

"Is the shield activated?" Andre checked.

Novi Grad's citizens were unaware an invisible and mystical barrier now surrounded their city. Protecting them was not its primary function.

"We'll find them next time they exit portal," Pavel confirmed.

The pair had been extremely cautious to avoid the attention of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.

"I'd love to know what tipped them off this late," Andre referred to Earth's order of sorcerers.

"They mustn't know all that much," Pavel reasoned. "Otherwise they would've arrived right where we're standing."

"Even if they don't know our plans, we must assume they'll find out," Andre countered. "We can't let them destroy the Omniter. Not when we're this close."

Pavel sensed his brother had a plan, "What do you have in mind?"

"Imbue it with our life force!" Andre firmly argued. "It'll be impervious to damage."

The Prime Minister slightly hesitated at the suggestion.

"Only once has such magic been used before," Pavel cautioned from history. "His form was severely weakened, brother."

The President knew the magic-user being referred to.

"Unlike him, we can draw on the Dark Dimension," Andre reminded. "We'll still be strong enough to stop any threat."

Display screens in the chamber soon experienced a momentary distortion. Worried technicians immediately ran a system check. Sighs of relief abounded as the data indicated the Omniter was free of glitches. No diagnostic software could have picked up the cause of distortion.

Andre and Pavel first exited the Mirror Dimension at a discreet location within the castle. Their astral forms then returned to the chamber. Floating next to the Omniter, they started chanting to carry out Andre's plan.

" _Min Cor a thorthad hain phain,_

" _Min Cor a chiriad hain,_

" _Min Cor a theged hain a nedhi vorn gweded hain!"_

* * *

 **I wanted to squeeze in a journey to Kamar-Taj as well as have Zrinka and Costel make an appearance. Hamir taking over training is just supposition on my part.**

 **Action picks up next chapter. As for our friends' disguises, things aren't always what they seem.**

 **Nods this chapter to JRRT as well as BC taking on the mantle of Sherlock Holmes. SL cameo still to come.**

 **IMHO too many war memorials contain the word 'glorious'. As the centenary of WWI approaches its end, I prefer a lesser used inscription –** _ **Let silent contemplation be your offering.**_


	6. Through a Mirror Darkly

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

* * *

11/04/2018

With _IW_ just two weeks away, it's only appropriate this chapter includes my SL cameo.

 **zombie-hunt** : I'm inclined not to further shock Wanda given she's working with the 'Voice of Smaug'.

 **Anonymous** : Might be a while before MTCU Scarlet Witch returns to Middle-earth to worry about that.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Through a Mirror Darkly**

The three magic-users agreed to depart at dawn. At the others insistence, Wanda slept in the guest room. She got dressed and quietly made her way to the living room. Zrinka and Costel remained sound asleep. Wanda would have liked to farewell them in person instead of the note she placed on the kitchen table. However, it was probably best the pair did not witness their guests' departure. A portal opening inside their apartment would destroy Strange's cover story just for starters.

Strange had slept on a couch in the living room. He was standing patiently when Wanda joined him. The Scarlet Witch had been informed last night where their search would be taking them.

"Ready?" Strange asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Wanda replied with some wariness.

Strange understood the reason. While glad to have narrowed down the location, he wished it had been different than where Wanda's family was buried. The sorcerer used humour to comfort more now than when he was a neurosurgeon.

"You know," Strange mused to the Scarlet Witch, "I was thinking our group needs a name."

An appreciative Wanda chose to humour him. She thought of a name using elements from past and present affiliations.

"How about…The Strangers?" she suggested.

Strange was impressed as much as he was flattered.

"Perfect," the music savant agreed with the name. "We don't even have to provide back-up for Merle Haggard."

The reference was lost on Wanda. Main reason being something far more important had grabbed her attention.

"Where's Gandalf?" she asked about the Strangers' other member.

Strange nodded in the balcony's direction. Gandalf was seated with his back turned to the glass door. The wizard seemed to be watching the sun as it started rising over the horizon.

"Has he been out there all night?" Wanda couldn't believe it.

She and Strange stepped outside. Gandalf seemed oblivious they had joined him.

"Morning, professor," Strange gibed to get his attention.

Wanda then noticed Gandalf was wearing a pair of earphones plugged into Costel's tablet. She gently shook the wizard's shoulder. He immediately took off the earphones before standing up.

"Sorry," Gandalf apologised while picking up his cane.

"What were you listening to?" Wanda queried.

The White Wizard had spent the night researching a name that had puzzled him.

"I was curious to know about this 'Beyonce' Stephen speaks of," he recalled Wong's nickname. "Costel kindly provided me with a sample of her music."

The Scarlet Witch reacted with a bemused smile. Like Wong, she was familiar with the artist in question.

"Did you like it?" Wanda had to know.

"The young lady certainly has a joyous voice," an ambivalent Gandalf commented. "Though I'd advise her it's not always a good idea to put a ring on it."

* * *

Strange and his companions exited through his portal to the cemetery. Their unworldly arrival went unnoticed. Early morning found the cemetery near deserted. Wanda privately contrasted the situation two years before. Pietro's funeral saw thousands cramming the grounds to pay their respects. Despite this (as well as the Avengers support), Wanda never felt more alone than she did that day. That included when she was imprisoned on the Raft.

Meanwhile, Strange pulled out his compass having reassembled it the night before. While less erratic than in the city square, the needle kept twitching between points. The puzzled frown Strange gave in response didn't go unnoticed.

"What is it, Stephen?" Gandalf enquired.

"I'm still getting some interference," Strange explained before diagnosing the problem. "The spell's got to be over the whole city."

The Scarlet Witch once travelled across a much larger area than Novi Grad.

"Mirkwood was covered in Sauron's magic," Wanda uneasily recounted.

"As was Mordor," Gandalf concurred. "But I'm not sure if similar sorcery is at play here."

The Ancient One's writings said Sauron's influence extended to the very environment of Middle-earth. Strange believed the One Ring exemplified a lesson of Mordo's.

"Only a relic can sustain powerful magic over a wide area," he ventured a connection.

Wanda picked up a sliver of his thoughts, "You think it's the Omniter?"

"Maybe," Strange tersely conceded as he became distracted. The compass needle momentarily twitched in a tight arc. "Um," Strange gathered his thoughts, "you guys stay here a moment."

"Where are you going?" Gandalf asked.

"Might be less interference over there," Strange said, absently waving his hand in a forward direction. "I'll just find out."

Strange walked off to test his theory leaving his companions by themselves. Gandalf was about say something until noticing that Wanda was caught in her own distraction. The Scarlet Witch was staring at a headstone just a short distance away. The wizard immediately realised the significance.

"Go ahead, Wanda," Gandalf gently encouraged. "We have a few minutes."

Wanda gave his arm an appreciative touch before leaving to visit her family's grave. Gandalf opted to sit on a park bench just next to him. It was then he realised the Strangers were not alone. Close by was an elderly gardener raking leaves. Seemingly unaware of the trio's presence, the gardener released a frustrated sigh.

"Is all well, my good fellow?" Gandalf instinctively asked about his wellbeing.

The gardener held up his heavily dented rake, "You know anything about bending metal?"

Wanda crouched in front of Pietro's headstone next to their parents'. Sensing no witnesses, she removed her glasses and headscarf. It seemed Costel had recently washed his friend's headstone. The level of cleanliness was symbolic of the teenager's gratitude. Wanda gently touched the headstone and smiled bittersweet. The Scarlet Witch still missed her brother terribly. However, unlike two years ago, she no longer blamed herself for his death. Wanda's surrounds soon reminded her of a bad dream she had in Mirkwood. It was about visiting her family's grave, prior to being confronted by apocalyptic scenes and Stark musing they had something in common.

"Yeah," Wanda belatedly agreed with him. "We're the only surviving member of our families."

Strange had only travelled a short distance when his hopes began to fade. He thought the needle's reduction in movement pointed to an area with less interference. As he walked between the various graves and memorials, the compass resumed behaving erratically. Strange was frustrated by his lack of knowledge as much as his lack of success. The book which taught how to create the compass described magical interference but nothing like Novi Grad's. Then again, its author might have never encountered it. Strange was on the verge of giving up when his search – and the compass – unexpectedly turned once again.

The needle suddenly ceased spinning and firmly pointed east. Strange immediately halted and looked in the indicated direction. Immediately to his right was the locked iron door of a small mausoleum. Was the compass indicating the second arrival point was inside or merely its direction? The sorcerer decided to find out.

Strange placed his index finger against the keyhole and cast a spell. Dimensional energy subtly unlocked the door allowing Strange to open it. The mausoleum had been used by the same family for more than a century. At least that was Strange's initial reaction upon being hit with the smell. Stepping inside, he noticed a handful of coffins resting along the walls. Strange couldn't see any signs of disturbance from a dimensional portal. However, like any competent investigator knew, the most crucial pieces of evidence were rarely the most obvious ones.

Strange summoned a magic glyph spanning the width of his hand. With a mental command, the glyph slowly drifted away from him before gently dispersing into a golden mist throughout the interior. The spell was a mystical equivalent to forensic glasses. Strange now saw dozens of glowing embers scattered across the floor – confirming this was the spot the visitor from Arda had arrived. Masters of the Mystic Arts had been using this spell since ancient times. However, in some ways, the spell was also far more advanced than modern forensics. For one thing, it quickly approximated the age of any portal residue. Strange watched as the residue in the mausoleum began changing colour. As a rule, brightness indicated more recent residue. The residue in the mausoleum progressively faded from sparkling white to a violet hue.

"No way," Strange reacted aloud.

Whoever came from Arda arrived well before Radagast. The spell gave a rough timeframe but that was all. The scientist in Strange thought it best to detour back to the Sanctum Sanctorum for further testing. He loosened the cords of a small pouch before placing it on the floor. The residue drifted into the pouch as if it were a vacuum. After the pouch tightened itself close, Strange picked it up and made to leave. It was then he heard a metallic thundering coming from outside.

* * *

The Scarlet Witch stood up after farewelling her family for now. She made to put back on her headscarf. Wanda stopped mid-fold as her telepathy sensed imminent danger from above. A Sokovian robot swiftly landed behind her. The thud of nine more robots followed a second later as they landed among the various graves. Having surrounded Wanda, they simultaneously pointed their arm cannons at her. The first robot spoke with an emotionless but authoritative tone.

"Wanda Maximoff," it directly addressed her. "You're charged with being an unregistered enhanced and escaping lawful custody. Lay down on the ground with your hands behind your head. Failure to comply will result in the use of lethal force."

Wanda quickly set aside comparisons with Ultron's Sentries. She was more at a loss figuring out how these robots had found her.

"This is your final warning," the robot demanded her surrender.

Before Wanda could react, things were dramatically interrupted like when she and Thorin almost came to blows.

"YOU SHALL NOT TOUCH HER!" Gandalf's magically-enhanced voice boomed from behind the robot. "Begone at once!"

Gandalf strode towards the group with righteous purpose in every step. The Scarlet Witch agreed to leave the safety of Wakanda to help him and Strange. As Gandalf hinted to T'Challa, the flipside was defending her at all costs. The first robot levelled its cannon at the approaching wizard as the others remained pointed at Wanda.

"Don't move!" the robot ordered.

Gandalf didn't break stride, "I move to a higher will than yours."

A horrified Wanda sensed the robot preparing to shoot. She intervened without hesitation to save her friend – even if it meant going to war with Sokovia.

Wanda instantly destroyed the robot with an energy bolt. Gandalf then swung into action in the blink of an eye. He slammed his cane into the ground resulting in a bright flash of light like against Azog. The light did not just momentarily disorientate the remaining robots. It also revealed Gandalf and Wanda's respective "disguises" had been little more than illusions. A battle of mysticism and technology now erupted with the Scarlet Witch and White Wizard clad in their trademark attire.

Gandalf deflected a cannon blast with his staff before slicing the offending robot in half with Glamdring. Wanda took advantage of the robots' disorientation by dispatching more of them with her energy bolts. It was like being in the think of battle against Ultron's Sentries again. And she had no doubt Gandalf the White's presence would have greatly aided the Avengers at the time. A telekinetic burst from the wizard's staff violently flung back a trio of robots, crushing them before they hit the ground. Wanda used a hex shield to repel incoming fire before using her own powers of matter manipulation to rip apart the remaining robots. Instead of victory, she sensed the battle had just begun.

"Gandalf!" Wanda directed his attention skyward.

More squadrons now began descending on the cemetery from on high. The accords prohibited Sokovian robots being used as an airborne weapons platform. Consequently, their programming prevented them firing upon Wanda and Gandalf from above. It was the pair's only reprieve as dozens of robots attacked the moment after landing.

Wanda and Gandalf defended back-to back against the robotic onslaught. The first time they fought together was at Barad Mindon. Both had increased in power since that engagement. However, the orkish garrison had not been armed with advanced energy weapons either.

The barrage directed at Gandalf and Wanda intensified as more robots kept landing. Wanda summoned a hex shield that deflected a targeted volley. She then thrust the shield outward in a concussive wave that destroyed the offending group of robots. More landed to replace them. Gandalf then noticed a pattern in the reinforcements. The robots were joining the battle incrementally, maintaining pressure on him and Wanda as well as denying the opportunity to destroy them all at once.

There was suddenly a bright flash of orange light accompanied by the sound crunching glass.

* * *

Sokovia's fleet of robots and drones were overseen at a control centre in Novi Grad. Located within Sokovian Police headquarters, the centre was staffed by a sizeable number of sworn officers and civilian specialists. Rows of equipment and monitors (including a large split-screen on the front wall) carried live feeds and real-time data to assist with law enforcement. At present, many operators were in a flurry as their monitors displayed nothing but static.

Police received an order from Pavel less than fifteen minutes ago. Apparently, the Prime Minister had received intelligence about a dangerous but unspecified threat in the grounds of the city's cemetery. The centre swung into action launching a major search and - if necessary - destroy operation. None expected that threat to be the Scarlet Witch aided by an anachronistic-looking old man. Some of the officers had fought alongside her against Ultron. Despite feeling some unease, they nonetheless carried out their legal duty to apprehend the Avenger and her companion. Those who had sensed the portal watched remotely as the control centre scrambled to re-establish contact with the robots.

Andre and Pavel were observing proceedings in their respective offices. Each had a display linked to those at the control centre. Their shield around Novi Grad detected a portal opening in the cemetery. Both had been talking via speakerphone after Pavel ordered the robots into action. Like those in the control centre, he and Andre were more than surprised by who the robots had encountered. However, unlike their subordinates, the brothers knew why contact had been lost.

"They're in the Mirror Dimension," Andre surmised about the static on-screen.

"Yes." Pavel agreed before suggesting, "I'm also thinking we've an opportunity…"

* * *

Shifting dimension saw a temporary cessation of hostilities in the cemetery. Even the robots needed a moment to assess the latest arrival to the battle. Wanda couldn't help but suck in an awed breath at Strange's appearance. The sorcerer had followed his companions' example by casting off his disguise. Strange was floating majestically above the ground, the Cloak of Levitation billowing as if caught in the wind. His reaction to the robots' gaping mouths part of their design was anything but regal.

"Who's smiling now, assholes?" Strange taunted them.

He summoned an extended Eldritch Whip and lashed out at the assembled robots below. The length of fiery magic swept aside a score of them. Having cleared a path, Strange landed next to his companions. He wielded mandala shield with one hand and whip with the other as the robots resumed firing.

Strange's entry decisively swung the battle. Gandalf and he engaged close-by robots in melee allowing Wanda to eliminate others at range. Despite Strange's whip being much smaller, Gandalf though it no less deadly than Durin's Bane's. The sorcerer's whip swiftly curled around a robot's chest. Strange's weapon discharged a burst of mystic energy that fried the robot's circuits. Gandalf split open a robot's head with his blade before knocking it over with his staff on follow through. Two robots remained. They vaulted towards the Scarlet Witch who promptly destroyed each of them with an energy bolt.

The Strangers were now alone in the Mirror Dimension surrounded by a mass of destroyed and broken robots. The trio took a moment to catch their breaths.

"Everyone ok?" Strange asked after dispersing his mystic armaments.

Wanda had already experienced the Mirror Dimension when breaking into last night's accommodation. Her immediate question about the battle focused on the robots.

"How did they find us?" Wanda indicated her telepathy didn't sense the answer.

"It couldn't have been Zrinka and Costel," Gandalf immediately ruled them out as he sheathed Glamdring. "Even if they wanted to betray us, they had no idea where were headed."

For some unknown reason, Gandalf didn't feel the gardener (who seemingly had disappeared) would inform on the Strangers either. The group's leader felt the attack made a tactical retreat all the wiser.

"We should fall back to New York," Strange advocated returning to the Sanctum Sanctorum. "Try to figure out what happened."

Gandalf and Wanda readily nodded their assent. It meant departing Sokovia with the second arrival still on the loose. However, despite their best efforts, the Strangers were now being hunted themselves. It was imperative they rethink strategy. Doing it in a calm place proved much harder than they had assumed.

Strange made to open a portal as he'd become skilled at. Much to the sorcerer's consternation, he couldn't conjure even a spark. It was like he was a novice again trying to beat a river into submission.

"What's wrong?" Wanda sensed his desperation.

Strange's confusion was plain in his voice, "I can't open a portal out of Novi Grad."

"What about a portal _within_ it?" Gandalf suggested instead.

Strange immediately tried. He felt a small measure of relief upon opening a blazing portal near the centre of Novi Grad. Still within the Mirror Dimension, the group crossed over before the portal closed behind them. Sokovians in the physical world walked by the trio completely oblivious to their presence. They also seemed unaware of what the Strangers could hear. Within the Mirror Dimension, it sounded like the ocean was rolling across Novi Grad. It particularly confused the Scarlet Witch.

"What is that?" she tried reconciling the noise with her landlocked birthplace.

"It's coming from the city square," Gandalf correctly identified the source.

The Strangers walked quickly towards it. Events that morning made it easy to forget why the group initially went to the cemetery.

"By the way," Strange piped up, "I found the second arrival point."

None broke stride as they discussed the findings.

"Any sign of who it is?" Gandalf asked first.

"No," Strange replied. "But I found something just as interesting."

"What?" Wanda prompted.

The sorcerer made an educated guessed based on the residue's colour.

"Whoever it is, arrived more than forty years ago," Strange informed matter-of-fact.

Wanda blanched at the revelation. Had Sokovia unwittingly been host to a powerful magic-user for decades? How had they been able to escape HYDRA's pervasive attention let alone Wanda's own telepathy? Shock gave way to realisation.

"More than enough time to encode the robots," Wanda linked what she'd earlier sensed.

"As well as to imbue a powerful relic," Gandalf observed.

It took a moment for the other Strangers to realise what he was talking about. They had entered the square. The Mirror Dimension plinth disturbed Wanda as much as the one in the physical world garnered her disapproval. It was emitting a constant pulse of bubbles of blue-white light. Each magic bubble expanded away from the plinth before rapidly fading from view. The White Wizard remembered his last battle when he was the Grey.

"I know this spell," Gandalf stonily recalled. "I cast it's like at the Bridge of Khazad-dum."

Gandalf's briefing to the New Avengers a year ago included his epic struggle against Durin's Bane.

"When you broke the Balrog's sword?" Wanda recounted.

"Yes, Wanda," Gandalf confirmed before nodding at the bubbles ahead. "These aren't for the purposes of protection though."

"They're to prevent us from leaving," Strange concluded why they couldn't portal away from Novi Grad.

The group was interrupted before they could discuss a solution. Some twenty drones were gliding towards them from the opposite side of the square. The Mirror Dimension proved no barrier to the Scarlet Witch's psychic power. As the drones closed in, Wanda sensed their Sindarin computations increasing.

"You sure they can't see us?" she queried Strange.

Strange noticed the concern in her voice, "Why?"

The sorcerer was shocked like his introduction to the multiverse as the drones released a cross-dimensional payload. Invisible in the physical world, each bomb resembled a convulsing knot of space shards. Wanda raised a hex shield over the Strangers as shards phased into the Mirror Dimension. These shards didn't inflict physical damage though. They instead fragmented the landscape upon striking it. Buildings shattered like crystal sculptures while the surface became punctured by bottomless craters. Dimensional debris floated in all directions as if in zero gravity. The Stranger's best tactician was the first to recover his wits.

"They're trying to flush us out," Gandalf inferred the bombardment's purpose.

The Scarlet Witch knew the consequence of moving the battle into the physical realm.

"Then everyone in the square will be caught in the cross-fire!" she exclaimed opposing the move.

Strange came up with a dangerous compromise.

"Let me out," he requested Wanda open her shield.

The crowd in the square paid little heed to the drones overhead. Most assumed it was heightened security for the Omniter launch. The first indication of the dimensional battle raging in their midst was the drones instantly vanishing from sight. Those in the crowd weren't the only ones left stunned. Millions watching news broadcasts around the world couldn't understand the drones disappearing in the blink of an eye. The answer would have likely troubled them more than the mystery.

Wanda briefly opened the top of shield. The Cloak of Levitation immediately lifted its owner up through the gap. Hovering above the ground, Strange thrust the bounds of Mirror Dimension outward. The drones found themselves trapped inside it like the robots had been. The Strangers could now engage them without the risk of collateral damage. However, like all Dark Dimension magic, shard bombs were much more powerful in the Mirror. Now able to directly spot their targets, the drones concentrated fire.

Wanda's shield collapsed after taking several direct hits from shard bombs. She grabbed Gandalf's hand before psionically vaulting them out of the line of fire. A quartet drones turned to pursue. Noticing this, a still levitating Strange summoned a Tao Mandalas and flung it at the pair's pursuers. Captain America would have been more than flattered by the sorcerer's attack. Strange's mystic shield tore through the drones. Seemingly angered by the loss of their counterparts, most of the remaining ones swarmed towards Strange.

The Scarlet Witch had fought in battles before but never one so surreal. She touched down with Gandalf on a floating piece of rooftop with chunks from the ground drifting around them. Drones nimbly manoeuvred through the aerial clutter while switching to their precision weapon. Each of them had an energy cannon located at the nose. As the gun doors of several approaching drones opened, Wanda and Gandalf's bond came to the fore.

"I'll cover you," the wizard told the witch.

Gandalf's staff was a blur as he twirled it to deflect incoming fire. It allowed Wanda to take down their assailants with a steady stream of energy bolts. The remaining Stranger was both alone and far more exposed.

Strange was rapidly having to evade both cannon blasts and floating debris. He wielded a Tao Mandalas in each hand to protect himself the relentless stream of drone fire from all directions. Strange managed to redirect a blast with a shield onto a drone causing it to explode. Others encircled Strange before firing a relentless barrage. One of Strange's companions intervened as the sorcerer was on the brink of being overwhelmed.

Wanda had just taken down the last drone attacking her and Gandalf. She moved to aid Strange but was stunned as the White Wizard beat her to it. A dazzling beam of white light shot out of Gandalf's staff. It was like the one he used to drive away the Nazgul only larger and more powerful. All remaining drones were vaporised in an instant with Strange left unscathed. Wanda had never witnessed her mentor display such power before. She raised it with Gandalf now the drones were defeated.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Wanda dryly needled him.

A relived Strange took in the battle's immediate aftermath. The only part of the mirrored square left unscathed was the plinth. He had little doubt it was due to the shield the relic generated. Strange made to descend to re-join the others. The Cloak of Levitation had other ideas as it restrained him from moving.

"What?" Strange asked the fickle relic about the delay.

The cloak pointed one of its corners at a piece of a destroyed drone that had drifted within reach. It resembled a non-descript black can. After grasping it, Strange examined the object more closely. The sorcerer realised it was a case of one relic discovering another.

"Well spotted," Strange complimented the one he owned.

Seemingly chuffed by the praise, the cloak quickly took him to the rooftop. Strange shared the cloak's discovery by first asking a rhetorical question.

"Still want to know how they found us?" he prefaced to Wanda and Gandalf. "The shield doesn't just block portals. It detects them every time we exit one. Inside the drones," Strange held up the drone relic, "this is fed the exact location."

"The robots probably contain one as well," Gandalf remarked as Strange brushed his fingers across the relic's top.

Revealed were two blue glowing runes resembling 'B' and 'K' written backward. Initially, Wanda vaguely remembered reading about an ancient language in Elrond's library. That was until her telepathy was blindsided by Gandalf's reaction to the runes. They had invoked strong feelings of grief and betrayal in the wizard. The Scarlet Witch placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"What's the matter, Gandalf?" she asked in concern.

Gandalf gave a bitter sigh of realisation, "I was wrong, Wanda."

"About what?" Strange probed.

The identity of the second arrival saw the White Wizard give a rare direct answer.

"The Blue Wizards, Stephen," Gandalf sombrely replied. "They're here."

* * *

The Mustarman's leaked online select footage from the cemetery battle. It was a clip of the Scarlet Witch destroying several of Sokovia's robotic protectors. The footage put many on edge both inside and outside Sokovia. Had the former Avenger come out of hiding to seek revenge for her imprisonment? Or was she trying to seize power in her homeland? Worse, did she now have the power to make everyone her mindless slave? The Mustarmans had intended their leak to produce such fears. Their leak's timing was also strategic. It ensured Pavel's media conference an hour later would have a large global audience.

The Prime Minister confidently entered a large hall with Sokovia's Parliament building. Pavel strode up to a lectern before facing hundreds of local and international media. He delivered his official statement in English given the latter's presence.

"Good morning," Pavel began reading it. "By now you've all seen the footage taken by our security robots earlier today. I can officially confirm the individual in the footage to be the enhanced fugitive, Wanda Maximoff.

"Our intelligence reports indicate she arrived in Sokovia sometime yesterday. We aren't certain about her motives. But all indications are she intends to destroy the Omniter.

"In light of these events, the President has declared a state of emergency effective immediately. Sokovia's borders are now closed to all traffic until further notice. A curfew will be in place at 2000 hours except for authorised personnel. And our military is being deployed to assist with these measures.

"Despite this, Sokovia will never bow to terrorism. Not even by enhanced individuals. The Omniter will be launched as planned. No one, not even the Scarlet Witch, will deny Sokovians their future.

"Finally, if Ms Maximoff happens to be watching, I urge she turn herself in. Especially if she wants Novi Grad to avoid what happened in Lagos."

Watching in his office, the President was more than satisfied with his brother's performance. Andre lifted the handset from his desk phone.

"Begin organising the volunteers," he ordered an aide. "It's almost time for the Omniter's final test."

* * *

 **Elephant stamps to the reviewers who guessed the identity of our villains. Hopefully my remaining plot twists will be harder to spot.**

 **The runes are 'M' and 'R' in Elvish Cirth taken from Appendix E of** _ **LoTR**_ **and inspired by Gandalf's 'G' in** _ **AUJ**_ **. And, yes, Sir Ian's trademark Marvel role made for an obvious SL cameo.**

 **Writing battles in the Mirror Dimension make those in the physical world appear relatively simple. My main goal is to make an entertaining story. The same applies for instances of non-canonical magic.**

' **The Strangers' was the name of an Australian group as well. Though you won't find either (let alone the late Merle) in my music collection.**

 **Pavel lying about Wanda's motives can certainly be considered fanciful. After all, no real-world government would ever misuse intelligence to sway public opinion…**


	7. Dealing with Demons

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

* * *

30/05/2018

First things first. My reaction to _IW_ – AWESOME IS TOO HUMBLE A WORD! And who was I doubt Josh Brolin's performance wouldn't be anything than epic? As demanded by Thanos, no spoilers from me. Though I was a bit disappointed that Stark, Quill and Strange didn't think to weaponise their combined sarcasm á la Stormbreaker.

 _IW_ is also the reason for the delay in this chapter. I've had to re-work a couple of plot points I had planned for the MTCU. More on those later.

This chapter contains more than a bit of italics due to telepathy and other non-verbal communication.

 **darkthicc** : Try as I might, it's hard to imagine Thanos overthrowing the Ilúvatar with 'just' the Infinity Gauntlet.

 **Omegashark18** : _Ragnarok_ certainly was an influence. "Team Strange" doesn't quite have the same verve.

 **Nari Serpens** : This chapter explores the issue somewhat.

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Dealing with Demons**

The Strangers had not left the Mirror Dimension despite the drones' attack. Exiting into the physical world carried a far greater risk of being detected. They nonetheless agreed it unwise to remain in the shattered square. Wanda led the group away from the city centre to an abandoned foundry. It had been a hideout for her and Pietro when they were homeless. Unlike much of Novi Grad, the recent economic resurgence had passed the foundry by making the Strangers the only ones present in any dimension.

The three magic-users had taken refuge on the foundry's top floor. They shared a simple lunch courtesy of Strange's growing skill at transmutation. Gandalf hoped that same skill could also help unravel the mystery behind the Blue Wizards' arrival. Strange had extended the Mirror Dimension to include a small ladle used by squatters as a fire pit. The sorcerer only needed a couple of moments to turn the ladle's ashy interior into a pristine body of fresh water.

"Do you still have that pouch of yours?" Gandalf then requested.

Strange immediately handed it over. He watched as the wizard untied it before sprinkling the portal residue into the ladle. Gandalf had provided a general explanation for his actions beforehand.

"So, how's this going to help us exactly?" Strange tried finding out the specifics.

"By creating a different sort of mirror," Gandalf referred to their dimensional surroundings. "One like Lady Galadriel's."

"The elf telepath?" Strange recalled the Ancient One's writings.

"Indeed," Gandalf confirmed. "Unlike hers, this mirror can only be used once. But hopefully it will reveal how the Blues got here." The wizard momentarily paused as the residue started spreading across the water's surface, "As well as what they've been up to."

"Yesterday I would've said the blues never arrived until Robert Johnson," Strange mused.

The musical reference slipped right by Gandalf with mirror taking his full attention.

"Excuse me, Stephen," the wizard absently apologised. "I need a few minutes to enchant it."

With his witticism gone begging, Strange walked over to the group's remaining member. Wanda was just a few yards away keeping watch through a gaping hole in a wall.

"Any sign of drones?" Strange quietly asked.

The Scarlet Witch shook her head, "No robots either."

"Well, I doubt it's because we destroyed them all," Strange reckoned.

Wanda didn't even give a sniff of agreement. She continued watching the surrounds with a rankled expression on her face.

"What is it?" Strange noticed it.

On the way to the foundry, Wanda's telepathy picked up Pavel's statement from those watching or listening to it in the physical world.

"Oh, just what Pavel said about Lagos," she sighed in annoyance. "I mean, all Wakandans accept it was accident."

Strange read between the lines.

"Trust me," he advised, "having a perfect record's not worth it."

"You never lost a patient," a puzzled Wanda reacted.

The Scarlet Witch now learnt the pair had more in common than being wielders of mystical power. For Strange, it was a rare opportunity to confide in someone who understood the pain of losing a sibling.

"As a kid, I decided to become a doctor after my sister drowned," the sorcerer shared. "But it was never about saving lives. I just wanted to prove I could control death. That's why I avoided working in ER. I was afraid a patient would die on me."

"Because you blamed yourself for not saving your sister?" Wanda inferred.

"Not bad for a psych student," Strange inimitably complimented her perceptiveness. "But, yeah. It was only after surrendering control that I finally made peace with myself."

Wanda had to make a similar peace before she could free Thorin from madness.

"It took dragon-sickness for me to learn that," she empathised.

"It took the Ancient One's death to learn it wasn't about me," Strange one-upped her.

The sorcerer was beaten at his own game.

"Good thing I'm already selfless," Wanda dryly mused.

They shared an understanding chuckle before being interrupted.

"Wanda!" Gandalf called out. "Could you help me please?"

She and Strange immediately joined the wizard.

"What is it?" Wanda asked him.

"Normally, the spell I'm about to cast only allows one to view images," Gandalf said before nodding at the ladle. "A touch of your power would also enable us to hear things."

The Scarlet Witch blew a whiff of psychic energy that dispersed throughout the water like a red mist. Strange found the situation not dissimilar to another trio of magic-users gathered around a cauldron.

"This reminds me of the Scottish play," he remarked before Gandalf tapped the ground with his staff.

 _The surface of the water rippled outward from centre. It first showed a vast inland sea bordered by forests and hills. The landscape then changed to endless grass steppes populated by horses, antelopes, and giant cattle with gleaming white hides. Nor were these steppes solely occupied by wildlife. Also revealed were Asiatic-like yurts, small settlements, and great cities hinting at a large and powerful confederation of Men._

Gandalf immediately identified the images to be of Rhun and the Easterlings who occupied it. But he was as shocked as the other Strangers by what was shown next.

 _Unveiled was the Rhun described in the Ancient One's writings. Images flashed by of darkened skies, poisoned rivers and grasslands turned barren. Wildlife and livestock lay dead in equal measure. The streets of a grand city were littered with the corpses of its inhabitants as if killed by a terrible plague._

Given Radagast's memories, none of the Strangers believed the Easterlings had fallen victim to a pandemic. The mirror's surface rippled again to reveal the source of Rhun's destruction.

 _Hundreds of Easterlings lay prostrate in a withered wheat field. Standing in front of them were two bearded old men attired in sea-blue robes and each holding a staff._

Gandalf's heart sank upon recognising the Blue Wizards – Morinehtar and Romestamo. It was not the two Istari the crowd was venerating though. This cult was just one of many the Blues had founded across Rhun. Thanks to Wanda's energy, the Strangers clearly heard the object of these cultists' worship.

" _Dormammu! Dormammu!" the crowd exalted._

 _The waters rippled again. It was the same scene only a few minutes later. The worshippers lay dead in the field alongside its ruined crop. More startling was the portal to the Dark Dimension in the air above the Blues. It was smaller than the one Dormammu opened at Rhosgobel. However, this portal appeared to be far more stable._

Strange was more puzzled by the fact there appeared to be no sign of the Cosmic Conqueror. Was portal instability more due to Dormammu's presence rather than the vortex? Strange's contemplating abruptly ended as the Blues were now taken by surprise.

 _A fiery portal suddenly opened out of which stepped the Ancient One. Unsure who she was, the Blues raised their staffs in defence._

" _Who are you?" Romestamo challenged her._

" _The one who defends existence," the Sorcerer Supreme replied as she strode towards them._

 _Both Istari deduced she was human. They thus perceived her declaration to be even more impertinent._

" _Depart, sorceress!" Morinehtar warned. "Our task and power are beyond your understanding!"_

 _The Ancient One announced her own mission, "This world does not belong to Dormammu!"_

 _The Blues each directed a telekinetic blast at her. Anticipating their move, the Ancient One summoned a large Tao Mandalas shield. Its ethereal patterns wobbled at the Blues' attack before reflecting the absorbed energy outward. Morinehtar and Romestamo were violently flung backwards into the ground, stunned a human sorcerer had the power to do so. The Ancient One seized the moment and opened the Eye of Agamotto. With a swift wave of her hands, a time glyph covered the width of the Dark Dimension portal. The glyph began rotating slowly, causing the portal underneath it to contract._

 _Still reeling, the Blues felt their whole mission was now in jeopardy. The pair sprang back up and acted in tandem against the Ancient One. Romestamo shot a jet of flame out of the base of his staff. The Sorcerer Supreme drew on her extraordinary skills in magic and martial arts as she dodged the flame with an inhuman somersault into the air. She was forced to keep drawing on them as Morinehtar attacked the moment she landed on her feet. The Ancient One summoned a pair of Tao Mandalas fans to deflect Morinehtar's staff from striking her. With Morinehtar engaging the Ancient One in melee, the other Blue Wizard displayed one of the powers Dormammu had taught them._

 _Romestamo slammed his staff into the ground. All combatants instantly found themselves in the Mirror Dimension_. _The Blues had been taught their power would be enhanced in this parallel dimension. Both summoned a space shard in their spare hand intending to impale the Ancient One._ _Their next lesson was discovering the Ancient One was far more experienced in wielding Dark Dimension magic than they._

 _The Sorcerer Supreme broke from melee as she warped the surroundings to her will. Morinehtar was caught off-guard as the ground moved under him like a travelator. The Ancient One swiftly reversed him alongside Romestamo. The Blues' tried countering with their own nascent powers of reality warping. The Ancient One made a short leap to safety as a hole opened beneath her. She then rapidly drove the surface below the Blues upward like an unworldly pillar. Morinehtar and Romestamo struggled to maintain balance as the pillar ascended at an increasing rate. It was too late when they noticed the Ancient One had opened a portal directly above them. The Blues reflexively flinched as the pillar crashed into the time glyph. Both wizards were consumed in a bright explosion of green light. With her foes vanquished, the Ancient One exited the Mirror Dimension. The time glyph dispersed a few seconds later after the portal to the Dark Dimension was finally sealed._

With the possible exception of Gandalf, Strange felt his deceased teacher was the wisest and most learned individual he had ever known. The Ancient One was also humble enough to admit she was not omniscient. The next set of images indicated that included not fully understanding the vortex surrounding Arda.

 _The Blues plummeted through the multi-verse in similar fashion as Radagast. However, being struck by the combined energies of the Time Stone and the vortex caused the wizards' corporeal forms to de-age as they fell through the various dimensions. Both resembled boys no older than ten by the time they exited the multi-verse._

 _Gandalf's mirror confirmed the mausoleum in Novi's Grad cemetery was his fellow Istari's point of arrival. The interior was pitch black. Despite their changed appearance, Morinehtar and Romestamo's knowledge and spellcasting abilities remained undiminished. The Blues used the same ritual as Kaecilius to contact Dormammu. The interior was dramatically illuminated as the glowing red symbol of the Dark Dimension appeared between the wizards. The image of Dormammu's terrifying gaze signalled contact had been successful._

Wanda's telepathy again aided the Strangers by allowing them to hear the Blues conversation with the Cosmic Conqueror. The conversation was not two-way nor spoken. It more resembled Dormammu mentally streaming a rapid-fire series of concepts.

 _Far from being displeased with the Blues, Dormammu believed they had been presented an opportunity to carry out their plans on Earth. Dark Dimension magic allowed Morinehtar and Romestamo to change their physical appearance at will. But Dormammu suggested they 'age' theirs at the same rate as humans. It would allow them to avoid detection by the Masters of the Mystic Arts. But they would also need time and resources to build a powerful relic – a set of rings more powerful than those forged by Celebrimbor._

 _The Dark Dimension symbol changed shape into the Omniter._

The water returned to normal. A troubled silence reigned over the Strangers. They found the mirror's images as equally disturbing as Radagast's memories. They still had no idea what sort of relic the Omniter was. But the chilling scenes of death throughout Rhun almost certainly portended that relic's purpose. An unsettled Strange revised his earlier opinion of the mirror.

"Definitely not like Macbeth," he dryly muttered.

* * *

Sokovia's army was among the smallest in Europe numbering just three thousand soldiers. The state of emergency required every single one of them to enforce it. Some had been mobilised to secure its borders while others were positioned to guard critical infrastructure. Most soldiers though were assigned to maintain law and order. This was especially given the Sokovian Police Department was currently deprived of its most advanced technology.

Andre ordered all surviving robots and drones be redeployed to protect the castle. The official reason was to minimise human casualties should the Scarlet Witch attack the Omniter. Unofficially, they were the only arm of the security forces that wouldn't be affected by the experiment now about to take place.

Curfew had just come into effect when a prison bus arrived at the castle. Inside were ten inmates from Sokovia's maximum security facility (due to the Vienna bombing, Zemo was serving life without parole in an Austrian prison). They were the successful applicants of a tightly-contested volunteer program. A program that offer extra prisoner privileges in exchange for a few hours as beta testers of the Omniter. Remotely managing the process was the project's full complement of technicians from their stations in the Omniter's chamber. Unlike the evening before, the President and Prime Minister stood openly among them. The unwitting technicians were honoured Sokovia's leaders had decided to join them for the first time in days. The pair's presence also provided no small reassurance given the state of emergency. It made the technicians even more determined for beta testing to be a success.

Technicians watched on their monitors as security robots escorted the inmates into a basic computer lab. Inmates were instructed via intercom to each sit in front of a desktop. The first test required them to look for website topics using a variety of search engines. As the inmates began searching, the Mustarmans – the Blue Wizards – had a private conversation.

"Why couldn't they be tested in prison?" Pavel asked about the inmates.

"Not enough internet connections," Andre informed him. "Besides, every experiment needs a control group." The President had a question of his own, "Everyone in the castle accounted for?"

"We can act the moment the testing's over," Pavel confirmed.

The inmates had been given mundane search topics such as news, weather, and real estate. None of them knew could see the other's search results. If they did, they would have been surprised to learn the first website listed was the same for all of them. More surprising was the website had nothing to do with any of their search topics. It was for a legal firm specialising in parole hearings. Given they were free to go to any listed website, all inmates clicked the link. The firm's homepage boasted an outstanding success rate in securing parole for even the most hardened criminals. More than intrigued, the inmates clicked the various sections to find out more. No human in the castle knew the inmates were actually being subject to a spell of the Blues. It played on an individual's deepest desire similar in fashion to the One Ring. And just like the Ring, someone using the Omniter quickly drew the attention of a terrible dark lord.

A chorus of horrific screams soon echoed throughout the castle.

* * *

The Strangers stood dissecting what the mirror had revealed. Gandalf smoked his pipe as they tried reconciling the age of the portal residue to when the Ancient One confronted the Blues.

"The vortex explains the differences in time," Strange referred to the Blues arrival.

"Yes," Gandalf concurred. "The passage of centuries in Arda was equal to decades on Earth."

"And it explains why the 'Mustarmans'," Strange used air quotes, "have never shown any signs of decay."

"Like Kaecilius?" Wanda remembered the descriptions.

Any human sorcerer who kept using Dark Dimension magic invariably displayed the physical signs of it. That included the greatest of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.

"Even the Ancient One had the symbol," Strange affirmed.

"I still don't understand something," Wanda put to him. "You said her journal didn't say anything about the Blue Wizards."

"Well, it was her first trip to Middle-earth," Strange reasoned. "She probably didn't even know they were wizards."

"Not that I blame her," Gandalf bitterly commented. "They ceased being wizards the moment they sided with Dormammu."

The wizard blew an agitated puff of smoke. Wanda last saw him like this outside Barad Mindon. Thorin's obstinate refusal to go to Rivendell had left the wizard fuming. But the Blues' betrayal had not just angered Gandalf. Wanda's telepathy sensed it had reminded him of Saruman's. Part of Gandalf would always be pained over the eternal loss of his friend. The Scarlet Witch felt compelled to comfort despite having no time for Saruman herself.

"I'm sorry, Gandalf," Wanda offered in sympathy.

Picking up the sub-text, the wizard gave a nod of appreciation. It was the first time someone had offered such condolences over Saruman. Then again, the Scarlet Witch was among the most compassionate individuals Gandalf had ever met.

"Look, all this doesn't explain the elephant in the room," Strange pointed out.

"Where?" a puzzled Gandalf looked around.

Wanda bit her lip from laughing at her mentor's confusion.

"It means the big problem we haven't talked about," she explained the idiom to him.

"And that's my bargain with Dormammu," Strange specified what it was. "I thought I'd closed Earth's door to him."

Strange had spoken of his pact the Cosmic Conqueror. Gandalf believed the 'elephant' in this case was mumakil-sized. Dormammu shared the same twisted sense of honour as many dark lords. Namely, they only abided by the letter of an agreement.

"Doors can swing both ways, Stephen," Gandalf began conjecturing. "He only agreed to leave Earth alone. But nothing was said about travel _to_ the Dark Dimension."

From the images she'd seen, Wanda felt only the truly insane would want to visit Dormammu's realm. It caused her to speculate what Gandalf was leading to.

"You think the Omniter is like some giant sling ring?" Wanda queried aloud.

Strange had contemplated the same theory himself. Unfortunately, it contained a major flaw.

"Travelling between dimensions isn't just about sling rings," Strange drew on his earliest lessons at Kamar-Taj. "The required spells take months, years to learn."

The Scarlet Witch considered a troubling possibility.

"Unless they've found a way around it," she warily voiced it.

"I don't think they'd be launching the Omniter if they hadn't, Wanda," Gandalf revealed that was where his own thoughts led.

"Well, I guess we'd better destroy it," Strange concluded with heavy understatement.

Gandalf overlooked the sorcerer's irony.

"We need to bring down their shield before that," he referred to the Blues' mystic barrier around the city. "Otherwise they'll be on to us the moment we step back into the physical world."

"No," Wanda softly said.

The other Strangers were confused.

"No…what?" Strange queried.

Wanda firmly believed the key to victory was the same as the Battle of Sokovia. To win, the Strangers had to prove their enemy wrong.

"We just can't destroy the Omniter," the Scarlet Witch argued. "We've got to convince the people it's the right thing to do." Wanda had not forgotten why she volunteered for List's experiments. "Outsiders have interfered in Sokovia throughout its history," she continued before describing what her telepathy had been picking up. "Nearly every Sokovian believes the Omniter will give them a better future. If we take that away from them without first saying why, we're no better than the Mustarmans or even HYDRA!"

Strange privately wondered if he should have brought the Eye of Agamotto after all.

"Clock's ticking, Wanda," he disagreed.

"The Omniter will be ready in less than eight hours," Gandalf added.

The Scarlet Witch was not deterred. Wanda wouldn't hesitate joining Team Cap a second time. But the Avengers who supported the accords nonetheless had a point. Enhanced individuals possessed extraordinary powers that could defy understanding. Unilaterally using those powers – even for benevolent reasons – risked leading to a vast sense of inequality though. Ordinary people could quickly come to believe their own place in the world no longer mattered. It was something the White Wizard needed reminding of.

"Gandalf, you didn't retake Erebor by using magic," Wanda put to him. "It was by convincing Thorin to take back his homeland. Let me do the same with my people."

The wizard didn't immediately respond. Wanda took it as a sign she had at least made him reconsider things. The remaining Stranger was proving harder to persuade.

"There's a standing warrant for your arrest, Wanda," Strange argued. "They mightn't even listen to you."

"I've got to try," she insisted.

"Why's that?" Strange tried forcing the issue.

"Because like someone taught me," Wanda prefaced before giving Gandalf a knowing look, "it's the ordinary folk who keep the darkness at bay."

For Gandalf, imitation was indeed the sincerest form of flattery. The Istari were sent to Middle-earth to guide the Free Peoples against the forces of evil. Now the Scarlet Witch was trying to do the same here. Wanda possessed extraordinary power. Yet she most wanted to use it helping others grow to their full potential. In a rarity, the White Wizard was proud to admit he was wrong.

"Wanda's right," Gandalf graciously conceded. "Her people have been lied to long enough. They deserve to be trusted with the truth."

Outvoted, Strange tried finding out how the Scarlet Witch was going to convince under half a million Sokovians.

"I take you've got a speech ready?" he glibly enquired of her. "And it's 'I Have a Dream' quality?"

Gandalf was prevented from asking about the idiom. The Scarlet Witch suddenly winced as if experiencing a sharp headache. Concerned, the other Strangers immediately lay a supportive hand on her.

"What is it, Wanda?" an anxious Gandalf asked.

Wanda's voice matched the shock in her eyes, "We could already be too late."

* * *

"There's been a disturbing turn of events in Sokovia. Jackson Norris joins us now. Jackson, can you tell us what's happened?"

"Yes, Christine. We're receiving unconfirmed reports about a mass assassination of Sokovian civilian and military leaders. Nearly all of them appear to have been killed in sudden and mysterious circumstances. And while there's been no official word, many are pointing the finger at Wanda Maximoff…"

* * *

Sokovia's Parliament building stood on one side of Novi Grad's main square. Apart from the main legislative chamber, it also housed offices for elected deputies and Sokovia's Cabinet. Ministerial staff and advisors were working late with the Omniter just hours from going online. No staff were busier than those in the Prime Minister's office. After phoning Costel to see he was home before curfew, Zrinka took a short bathroom break. She returned only to be confronted by the scene of a massacre.

The rest of Pavel's staff were dead throughout the office. Their bodies lay on the ground or sat slumped at their workstations. Worse though was the mysterious way they had been killed. The skin around their eyes was covered in dark purple splotches – though the eyes themselves had seemingly been torn out.

Zrinka was beyond horrified. Gripped by shock, she shakily picked up a handset to call for help. The line was dead. Zrinka next tried her mobile. She called Pavel only to go straight to his voicemail. Zrinka put her hand on a desk to steady herself, tormented by her conscience. She had not said a word to anyone about last night's dinner with the Strangers. Was that silence now responsible for the deaths of her colleagues? As far as Zrinka could tell, Wanda Maximoff last night was the same one she knew and loved. But how could she reconcile that with the footage from cemetery?

 _I'm sorry, Zrinka,_ Wanda telepathically sympathised.

The Scarlet Witch prevented her friend from screaming with a whiff of soothing psychic energy. Zrinka turned around and saw Wanda standing several feet away from her. Strange had opened a portal for the Avenger nearby Parliament. The ring of police and soldiers protecting it had been thrown into confusion by the reported assassinations. It allowed Wanda to use her powers of mental manipulation to sneak past them easier than normal. She got inside the building well before a pair of drones arrived to investigate the detected portal. However, security forces on the ground would soon be notified. Those same soldiers and police Wanda got passed would soon be inside the Parliament searching for her. It only added to the pressure of convincing Zrinka to help the Strangers once more.

"But I didn't kill your friends or anyone else," Wanda tried assuring.

Shock prevented Zrinka from accepting what intuition was telling her.

"It feels like I'm the only one alive in the building, Wanda!" Zrinka anxiously replied before gesturing at a corpse. "Who else this could've done this?!"

The Scarlet Witch remained calm. The Avengers Civil War had imparted a valuable lesson. A combination of wrong accusations and secrets could result in disaster.

"Almost everyone blamed Bucky for Vienna," Wanda referred to Zemo's bombing of the signing ceremony. "But Cap didn't believe the friend he knew could do that. It's why he risked everything to help him."

"You're saying I should just trust you as a friend?" Zrinka inferred.

"No, Zrinka," Wanda gently corrected. "I'm trusting you."

The Scarlet Witch mentally projected a series of events. Zrinka gasped as she rapidly absorbed all the Strangers had experienced and learnt since leaving her apartment. That included what Gandalf's mirror had revealed. The images of Middle-earth were particularly confronting.

"I…I don't believe it," Zrinka struggled to come to terms about her boss.

Wanda hadn't forgotten Galadriel's advice about what do when confronted by doubt.

"What does your heart tell you?" she repeated it.

Zrinka did not need to speak a word as her eyes welled with guilty tears. Wanda had lied about who Strange and 'Professor John' really were. However, it was nothing compared to the vast lie the Mustarmans had told Sokovia and the world. Worse, it was a lie that Zrinka had unwittingly supported.

"I thought the Mustarmans were good men," Zrinka snivelled in shame. "I really believed they cared about us."

Experience saw Wanda offer compassion and understanding.

"I made the same mistake with Ultron," the Avenger humbly admitted. Wanda paused a moment before concluding, "All that matters is what you do after learning the truth."

Zrinka wiped her eyes. She set aside her grief for the time being, becoming the first Sokovian to rally to the Strangers' cause.

"What do you need?" she asked.

Zrinka soon returned to her desk with the Scarlet Witch following.

"We still don't know how the Omniter kills people," Wanda prefaced her request. "I was hoping you could access Pavel's files."

"I can only access a few of them," his Executive Assistant said as she sat down. "Unfortunately, none of them are about the Omniter." After a few keystrokes, the problem was displayed on her screen. "They're protected by military-grade encryption," Zrinka spoke to it. "Even if we cracked it, there's thousands of files. It could take ages to find what you're looking for."

Wanda thought a moment, "I know someone who could help."

* * *

Vision was alone in Wanda's old room at the New Avengers Facility. The android was sitting on the bed polishing the White Gems of Lasgalen. As Gandalf intimated, it was a routine that he sought solace in. The last time Vision saw Wanda was in the aftermath of the Leipzig clash. The Scarlet Witch was stoic as US Marshals placed a collar around her neck to surpress her psychic powers. She, Barton, Wilson, and Lang were then bundled aboard Black Hawk helicopters for transportation to the Raft. As the helicopters disappeared in the distance, Vision unexpectedly felt a niggling uncertainty. It was the same uncertainty he felt just prior to missing Falcon with his energy beam. Polishing the gems, the android reflected on it part-man, part-machine.

Vision was certainly intellectually cognisant about human feelings of attraction and desire. If nothing else, Tony Stark indirectly provided JARVIS something of a colourful lesson. But it was Wanda who sparked Vision's first genuine experience of those emotions. Emotions that could drive even a Mind Stone enhanced super-intelligence to the point of distraction. And it seemed that distraction got worse the longer one's object of affection was away. Is that what humans meant by absence making the heart grow fonder? If so, why did Ovid write love vanishes with absence?

 _She's_Weird: Can we have my favourite supper?_

The android's head shot up at the instant message he'd just received. It was the first in a series of passphrases he and Wanda had developed. Prior to the Avengers Civil War, the pair had created personal accounts on one of the service providers. It was so they could privately communicate outside the group's communications network. Until now, Wanda had sent no message since Leipzig. Largely because Vision would quickly pin down where she was sending it from. Aware of the news, Vision wasn't surprised it was coming from Novi Grad. However, he first had to be sure it was indeed Wanda talking to him.

 _Howard_Butler: Unfortunately, we're out of paprika._

 _She's_Weird: Thirteen dwarves could be joining us._

 _Howard_Butler: Can you catch some fish again?_

 _She's_Weird: I'll first check the hobbit's pantry._

Having verified it was the Scarlet Witch, Vision got straight to the point.

 _Howard_Butler: Why are you in Sokovia?_

 _She's_Weird: I'm with Gandalf. The Mustarmans were the Blue Wizards in Middle-earth. They're planning to kill millions with the Omniter._

 _Howard_Butler: How?_

 _She's_Weird: The answer is on Pavel's directory. We need to hack security and quickly find it. Can you help us?_

Vision took a few microseconds to weigh up the ethical complexities of the request. Even after the Avengers' bitter split, he didn't believe Wanda would ever lie over something like this. Being accompanied by Gandalf also significantly reduced the chance she was mistaken about the Mustarmans. The real problem was the Sokovia Accords. Aiding a wanted enhanced was a serious criminal offence – especially for Avengers who were signatories. It was then the android had a revelation after remembering what King T'Chaka said.

 _Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all._

The accords were supposedly founded out of justice. Vision still believed oversight was critical to prevent Avenger complacency over collateral damage. But there were few graver injustices than permanently detaining someone without trial. Even Zemo, the one who bombed the accords signing, had been afforded natural justice prior to sentencing. This was in complete contrast to the Avengers arrested in pursuit of him. And Vision thought he knew the reason.

Governments considered all members of Team Cap to be a threat. But the Scarlet Witch was the one they truly feared. No human being was immune from her incredible psychic powers. That included high office-holders who cared far less about hurting innocent people than she did. To them the accords weren't about justice but about control. And they ultimately sought to control Wanda by dehumanising her. Vision knew he was about to break the law. However, the android often perceived human history in terms of equations. One was that "just obeying orders" often resulted in far worse crimes than those born out of rebellion.

 _Howard_Butler: Interfacing now._

Sitting at Zrinka's desk, Wanda gave a quiet sigh of relief. Contacting Vision had been a gamble despite his feelings for her. His response showed those feelings included a very human-like conscience.

Zrinka and Wanda watched as Vision went about hacking into the system. He used the former's desktop to remote access Pavel's directory. Its sophisticated encryption systems soon proved no match for Vision's powers of computer interaction. Multiple windows opened as the android rapidly deciphered the various algorithms. Activity became a blur as Vision searched thousands of folders at a time. His search abruptly ended upon discovering an individual folder. Zrinka was puzzled by its name.

'PROJECT ANNATAR'

* * *

 **This chapter's title was inspired by the Ancient One's line about living above our demons. Any reference to urban legends surrounding Robert Johnson are purely unintended.**

 **Vision's hacking is certainly not technically accurate compared to decryption in the real-world. On the other hand, defying reality is what makes the Avengers entertaining.**

 **Sokovia's population is a guesstimate on my part. I tend to equate Sokovia with smaller European nations like Luxembourg or Montenegro.**

 **There's a lot of debate about who of Team Cap or Team Iron Man was 'right'. I believe the most important lesson of** _ **CW**_ **was something far more fundamental. Denying others their humanity invariably causes us to lose our own. Only by honesty and humility can we hope to overcome injustice. Given all she's been through, it's a lesson that MTCU Wanda wouldn't ignore.**

 **My crossovers contain more than a few references to** _ **The Art of War**_ **. I felt it was time to include one to** _ **The Art of Love**_ **.**


	8. Rage of Miracles

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

* * *

26/06/2018

 **titan616** : I thought Annatar was appropriate given the connotations about malevolent fraud.

 **Aragorn II Elessar** Absolutely spot on about Magneto's mother. IMHO the cover-up of child abuse by clergy is another example – if only because my own mother was a victim.

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – Rage of Miracles**

Novi Grad was on edge. Twenty-four hours ago, Sokovia's capital basked in a spirit of euphoria. Now its citizens were firmly gripped by fear. Tension had been building since news of the Scarlet Witch's return. There had been no further sightings of her since that morning. Her next appearance threatened to cause nationwide anarchy. Particularly given Sokovia's ability to defend itself had seemingly been paralysed.

News of the mass assassinations had quickly spread. All Sokovia's Ministers and parliamentary deputies had been killed along with high-ranking civil servants, judges, and military officers. Making matters worse, there had been no public response from the Mustarmans. It seemed the President and Prime Minister had abandoned their people when they most needed assurance. The turning point came as midnight approached. Tens of thousands throughout Novi Grad froze at once upon as receiving the same telepathic message.

 _People of Sokovia, this is Wanda Maximoff. I know you're afraid. But I haven't come back to hurt any of you. I'm only going to tell you the truth._

The Scarlet Witch stood in the Prime Minister's office. Zrinka was the only witness to the streams of psychic energy pouring out of her friend's fingertips. Just like two years ago, Wanda was directing her energies as wide across the city as possible.

 _The news reports are right. I'm here to destroy the Omniter. What you don't know is the reason._

 _The Mustarmans are actually wizards from another world. They gain power by sacrificing victims. The Omniter will allow them to sacrifice the whole human race._

The Project Annatar folder included a link to the castle's CCTV network. Vision was able to access stored footage from earlier that evening. At Wanda's signal, the android sent it to every possible news outlet. Footage from the Omniter's final experiment horrified both Sokovians and millions of others around the world.

A pair of energy tendrils shot out at each prisoner from their respective screens. Prisoners violently spasmed where they sat, screaming in agony as the tendrils bored into their eyes. Vision also found recordings of what was simultaneously occurring in the Omniter chamber. Andre and Pavel each wielded a pair of space shards as they ruthlessly dispatched technicians and security personnel around them.

With the Blue Wizards exposed, the Scarlet Witch now sought to rally Sokovians to save their homeland. Whether they would rally behind the Strangers was another matter entirely. Strange had recounted his lessons from the Ancient One. Wanda felt one lesson was particularly relevant to gaining the trust of Sokovians. Namely, she first needed to surrender.

 _I know I've broken your laws since returning here_. _You have my word I'll turn myself in and face the consequences. But we must first destroy the Omniter. And that will take all of us who can fight._

 _Many of you may no longer consider me Sokovian. Well, I'll never stop fighting for our freedom. Even if it means giving up my own._

Wanda exhaled a nervous breath. Strange's sarcasm aside, she wasn't an oratorical genius like MLK even with her powers. Trying to follow Captain America's example in pre-battle addresses was hard enough.

"Do you think they believed you?" Zrinka asked.

Wanda looked at the office's closed double doors, "We're about to find out."

The doors were flung open by a coterie of soldiers and police who strode in and faced the pair. Leading the small force was an army major and a police captain. The major's stitched nametag read 'Kasun'. Wanda instantly recognised Kasun's co-leader. Captain Goranic led the station Quicksilver needed automatic gunfire to cajole into action. Unlike her brother two years prior, the Scarlet Witch was subjected to standard police procedure.

"Wanda Maximoff?" Goranic asked the suspect to identify herself.

"Yes," she simply replied.

There was an anxious pause before Goranic responded.

"How can we help?"

* * *

Zrinka remained with a squad of police officers to secure the Parliament (which was effectively a massive crime scene). Goranic and Kasun flanked Wanda as a group of soldiers escorted the trio through the building. As they approached the main doors, discussion was centred on Sokovian forces being mobilised in response to Wanda's request.

"Only half the army's in Novi Grad," Kasun told her. "It might take too long for the rest to join us."

"What about police?" asked the Scarlet Witch.

"We're already stretched maintaining order," Goranic grimly reported. "Riots could break throughout the city once the fighting starts. Firefighters and paramedics are also standing by."

"Should we order an evacuation?" Wanda suggested to avoid civil breakdown.

"It would be more difficult than last time," Goranic referred to the Battle of Sokovia. "A lot can go wrong moving thousands in the dark."

Wanda's experience in Middle-earth also gave her pause. It was impossible to forget the pandemonium in Lake-town the night of Smaug's attack. Chaos and panic had arguably been as much of killer as dragon-fire. Wanda had been receiving tactical training from both Rogers and Romanoff. They taught her that battle planning sometimes involved choosing the least bad option.

"Then we tell people to stay in their homes and avoid going online," Wanda concluded it was the said option in this case. "Use TV, radio, knock door-to-door if we have to."

"What about everyone outside Sokovia?" Kasun pointed out millions would still be exposed to the Omniter.

"Talk to the ISPs," was all Wanda could immediately think of. "See if they can help."

"We can order an air strike on the castle," Kasun offered what he felt was a far simpler solution.

It was almost certain every human being in the castle was dead given the CCTV footage. When it came to protecting civilians, however, Wanda would never gamble on 'almost'.

"No," she replied. "There could still be people hiding inside."

They exited outside where more police and soldiers were gathered on the front stairs. The Scarlet Witch suddenly remembered an important loose end from when she entered the building.

"Are the drones still looking for me?" Wanda anxiously asked the ranking officers.

Neither Kasun nor Goranic got to answer. Wanda's own telepathy told her they had walked into an ambush. Sokovia's ten remaining drones had been hovering unseen within the vicinity. With the Scarlet Witch out in the open they swarmed towards the square. The Battle of the Omniter began as the drones simultaneously opened fire.

Wanda summoned a hex shield over those present just in time. Those she was protecting reflexively flinched as energy shots struck against it. There was no let up as the drones sped towards their target. They halted just above the shield before releasing a relentless barrage. Wanda began to strain against the withering rate of fire. It wasn't just from the sustained quantity of energy she need to deflect. The drones' close-range attack prevented her from going on the offensive. Thrusting the shield outward as a concussive wave would certainly destroy the drones. But she wouldn't have time to deflect the falling debris. Fortunately, Kasun had indirectly provided a solution.

"If our planes want to target something they can target them!" Wanda urged him to take out the drones.

The Sokovian Airforce was small like the nation's army. But at that moment, a pair of MiG-29s were on patrol just outside Novi Grad. Both pilots banked sharply upon receiving Kasun's radio call. The city beneath them rumbled as they increased speed. Sokovia's drones weren't designed to gain air superiority. It was then relatively easy for the MiGs to lock on to them. Each pilot fired a volley of medium-range missiles. The drones were abruptly consumed in series of violent explosions.

Wanda's shield held firm as fire and debris rained down against it. She lowered it after the explosions cleared. As the MiGs shot overhead, Wanda saw the drones' burning remains scattered across the square. The Scarlet Witch decided to aid her fellow Strangers by tearing down a false idol. Goranic, Kasun and their subordinates were caught off-guard as Wanda lashed out with her telekinesis. Streams of red energy hurled the drones' remains at Pietro's statute. The statute quickly crumbled after taking multiple hits. Not surprisingly, those who had witnessed it gave Wanda a confused look.

"I'll explain later," she curtly promised.

Those aiding Wanda opted to accept that for now.

"I'm ordering all units in Novi Grad to advance on the castle," Kasun foreshadowed his orders to the army.

"I'll clear a path," Wanda revealed in return.

Soldiers and police sprang into action as the Scarlet Witch psionically took flight.

* * *

Strange and Gandalf remained at the foundry when Wanda left them to rally her fellow Sokovians. It was a tense wait made worse by the eerie silence that had descended upon Novi Grad. The Scarlet Witch's telepathy had not developed to the stage where she could broadcast thoughts concurrently across dimensions. By remaining in the Mirror Dimension, the other Strangers did not receive her address to the city. They would know if Wanda was successful by a sound outside the physical world. The Blues' shield could still be heard lightly pulsating in the background. For Gandalf, every pulse felt like an anxious tick of the clock.

The wizard was currently taking watch where Wanda had earlier. Looking out on Novi Grad brought back uncomfortable memories to Gandalf. The atmosphere over the city was reminiscent of Minas Tirith moments before the Witch-king's fearsome signal pierced the night sky. Unlike then, Pippin or Captain America weren't on hand to help settle the wizard's nerves. There wasn't even time to smoke his pipe given Strange and he might have to spring into action any moment. All he could do now was wait and keep faith in the Scarlet Witch.

Part of Gandalf wished he could have gone with his protégé. But, like so many others he'd mentored over the centuries, this was Wanda's moment of destiny. Especially given she had decided to claim it without any prodding on the wizard's part. Still, it didn't prevent Gandalf feeling the same underlying dread as when Frodo passed beyond his sight.

"Wanda's images of the castle," Strange interrupted his train of thought. "Do you think the layout would've changed all that much?"

Prior to departing, the Scarlet Witch projected into her companions' minds all she remembered of the castle's interior.

"I doubt it," Gandalf confidently said. "After all, it is heritage listed by UNESCO."

"How did you know that?" Strange enquired having never mentioned the organisation.

Gandalf arched a wry eyebrow, "Beyoncé wasn't the only thing I asked Costel to search for online."

Strange gave a smirk of understanding. There was something else about the wizard he needed clarity on. It came after comparing the Strangers' battles with Sokovia's automated forces.

"The spell you used to take out the drones," the sorcerer prefaced. "Why didn't you use it against the robots?"

The Istari had been clearly instructed about using magic in the physical world.

"I'm supposed to aid the Free Peoples, Stephen," Gandalf solemnly stated his purpose. "Not frighten them with displays of power."

Strange considered this a moment, "Christine gave me the same advice about Nick."

The White Wizard ignored this. His attention had instead been drawn to something far more critical.

"Listen," he hinted.

The Strangers' leader quickly heard the same thing.

"Pulses have stopped," Strange observed

"The shield's down!" Gandalf exclaimed in conclusion.

Wanda said it would signal her lone mission had been successful. Strange immediately opened a portal. He and Gandalf exited into the physical world for the first time since the cemetery. Using Wanda's images, they had entered the castle via the secret passage leading to the Omniter chamber. Strange first cast a spell that neutralised all surveillance equipment within the vicinity. The pair then descended the stairs towards their objective. Awaiting them was the aftermath of the footage that had horrified the world. The bodies of technicians and security personnel lay where they had been slain. Strange was more than familiar with the cause of death.

"Killed by space shards," he recognised the tell-tale wounds.

"We can grieve for them later, Stephen," a sympathetic Gandalf suggested.

The pair immediately walked to within in yards of the Omniter. They had discussed how to destroy it while waiting upon Wanda. After receiving a nod from Strange, Gandalf grasped his staff with both hands before slamming its base into the ground. There was a loud crack that echoed throughout the chamber like a thunderclap. The Omniter noticeably shook but sustained no structural damage.

"You use enough power?" Strange dryly asked the spellcaster.

The wizard was too stunned the Omniter still stood to notice the question's ironic undertones.

"Enough to break the bridge to Minas Morgul," Gandalf sincerely confirmed.

A portal suddenly opened behind them. The Strangers turned around as the Mustarmans stepped out to join them. The Blue Wizards had quietly been watching the intruders from within the Mirror Dimension. Gandalf and Strange didn't immediately attack due to sharing something in common. Both never resorted to violence unless foes left them with no choice.

"Gandalf and Stephen Strange," Andre imperiously greeted them. "Welcome."

The latter blinked at being recognised. He tried getting back at the Blues by referring to another pair of brothers.

"Thanks, Jake and Elwood," Strange deadpanned.

"Who?" Pavel was baffled having not seen the movie.

The reference was also lost on the White Wizard. His righteous anger flared now the Blues could finally be called to account.

"Perhaps you'd prefer Morinehtar?" Gandalf sternly offered instead before glaring at Andre. "And Romestamo."

Until then, Blue Wizards had never been called by their names of old since arriving on Earth. Neither of them was surprised by who was the first. After recognising Gandalf in the cemetery footage, both agreed he'd quickly unravel their aliases.

"It's good to see you too, old friend," an unruffled Andre / Romestamo responded. "I must say, white suits you far better than Saruman."

The White Wizard broke his predecessor's staff during their final confrontation. Unfortunately, the Blues could not be unilaterally stripped of their power from the Dark Dimension.

"And like Saruman your treachery has cost thousands of lives," Gandalf was immune to the President's customary charm.

The Blues refused to be drawn on the atrocities they had committed. They segued the conversation back to the present. Gandalf and Strange had entered the castle just as the Blues were about to leave it.

"We were about to find out why our shield's down," Pavel / Morinehtar said they had been interrupted. He then slyly asked, "Is that why the witch isn't with you?"

"Our drones would have found and eliminated her by now," Romestamo predicted before releasing a mock sigh of sympathy. "You should've never brought her back to Sokovia."

Gandalf inwardly bristled at their taunting about Wanda. He nonetheless declined to take the bait. The Blues were trying to goad the Strangers into letting slip their plans. It was also a tactical mistake for the Strangers were led by an accomplished provocateur.

"You shouldn't even be on Earth," Strange smoothly flipped Romestamo's last sentence. "Dormammu should've taken you with Kaecilius and the others."

Sokovia's Prime Minister was genuinely angered at being compared to a human sorcerer.

"We're not Zealots, Strange!" Morinehtar snapped. "We've no intention of turning this world over to Dormammu!"

"You'll instead kill its people on his behalf," Gandalf scoffed their intentions were benevolent.

"Most will kill themselves, Gandalf," Romestamo corrected. "We just help separate them from the rest."

"You make about as much sense as Kaecilius," Strange dryly observed.

The comparison with Kaecilius was not just intended to be an insult. It went without saying that evil magic-users tended to be immensely vain. The included an almost compulsive desire to share their 'wisdom' with the ignorant. Strange's gamble paid off with the Blues proving no exception.

"We've walked among your race for centuries, Strange," Romestamo patronisingly began. "Every generation's the same. Men will do anything for power, wealth, immortality – even love. But such desires merely reflect a deeper yearning."

"It's _darkness_ what most humans truly crave," Morinehtar shared what the pair had come to conclude. "They will give their very souls for it. All it takes is the right temptation."

None present heard Wanda's speech given they were in the Mirror Dimension at the time. That also meant being unaware of the hacked CCTV footage now being broadcast around the world. It led to false assumptions on both sides. Strange dismissed the Blues' arguments with the same scepticism he first showed the Ancient One's.

"How stupid do you think most people are?" Strange derided his race was as gullible as argued by the Blues. "That they'll kill themselves for something that sounds too good to be true?"

The Blue Wizards shared an understanding smirk. The ex-neurosurgeon – considered to be one of Earth's great intellects – was the perfect example of human weakness in the face of desperation.

"Tell me, Doctor Strange," Morinehtar pointedly reminded. "What were you willing to do to regain use of your hands?"

Strange inwardly winced at the question. The brief but uncomfortable look on his face told the Blues they made a point. The White Wizard refused to cede them any moral ground.

"At least Stephen wasn't willing to betray his sacred oath," Gandalf testily reminded the pair of their appointed task. "You were supposed to rally Men against the darkness not lead them towards it!"

The Blues' response proved they shared the same hubris as Saruman. They had entered what they believed to be an alliance of convenience with a dark lord. In truth, they were now little more than his puppets.

"And Dormammu will help us by separating the wheat from the chaff," Romestamo replied with deluded righteousness.

"He isn't just the Destroyer of Worlds," Morinehtar unwittingly paraphrased Kaecilius. "He's the Eater of Souls. Once online, the Omniter will allow him to devour millions of dark souls at once."

"Those who resist his temptations, the selfless at heart," Romestamo provided the final revelation. "We will rally and lead to a better world. A world free of darkness."

The Blues' twisted vision for humanity left Strange and Gandalf stunned. No human being was purely good or evil nor was it just about willpower. Factors like trauma, stress and disease could see even the noblest succumb to their worst impulses. They were impulses Dormammu was a supreme exploiter of. His temptations via the Omniter would have the same pull as the One Ring's within the Cracks of Doom. Through the internet, Dormammu would be able to consume vast swathes of Earth's population to sate his endless hunger. It was then the Blues learnt they had made a critical miscalculation.

From outside came the muffled sound of battle. A cacophony of energy blasts, gunfire and explosions steadily grew louder. The White Wizard ended debate within the Omniter on a vindictive note.

"You overlooked something, 'friends'," Gandalf mocked Romestamo's earlier salutation. "Few are more selfless than the Scarlet Witch!"

Angered by the turn of events, the more militant of the Blues open hostilities within the chamber. Morinehtar cast a ball of Dark Dimension energy at the Strangers. Gandalf had cast a mystic shield over Strange and himself in defence. The chamber shook as the ball violently exploded upon impact. The smoke and flames cleared with the shield dispersed but the Strangers unscathed.

Gandalf responded with a telekinetic blast that flung the Blues backward. He took the opportunity to unsheathe Glamdring. The wizard's companion gave the legendary blade a second glance.

"I've been meaning to try a sword," Strange decided sotto voce.

The sorcerer created an Eldritch sword resembling a sabre as the Blues jumped back on their feet. Both Morinehtar and Romestamo summoned a space shard in each hand before vaulting at their foes. An intense and otherworldly clash erupted for control of the Omniter.

* * *

The section of Novi Grad that Ultron raised into the air left behind a massive crater more than half a mile wide. Adjacent the crater, the castle now stood atop a series of sheer cliffs. The only approach from land was the narrow road winding up the hill to the main gates. A series of bunkers dotted the pine forest covering the slope. Protected by a combination of advanced technology and powerful sorcery, the castle was near-impregnable. The initial stages of the battle resembled Strucker's last stand. Only now, those defending the castle targeted the Scarlet Witch.

Wanda landed slightly above the base of the hill. Sensing the robot's Sindarin programming, she immediately raised a hex shield to defend herself. The forest lit up as robots opened fire with their arm cannons. Wanda held her nerve as the shield was pelted by deadly energy fire from all directions. She couldn't allow herself to be pinned down though. As Captain America taught her, a successful offensive required you keep moving.

The Scarlet Witch rapidly thrust her shield's energies outward. Several robots were destroyed in a shower of energy bolts. Wanda ran ahead deflecting enemy fire while on the move. She stopped behind a tree and released a volley of bolts at an oncoming squad. The robots were promptly destroyed but they were only a distraction. The Scarlet Witch was almost caught unawares as a robot landed a few feet next to her. She threw a psionically-enhanced punch that instantly disintegrated the robot's head upon contact. The barrage of enemy fire only intensified though. Much to her chagrin, Wanda was forced to halt as she cast a fresh hex shield to protect herself. It was then the first friendly reinforcements joined the battle.

Wanda rejected the idea of an air strike against the castle. Kasun instead ordered one to aid her instead. A different pair of MiG-29s closed in on the slope. Both pilots targeted robot forces on the ground with their precision guided munitions. On paper, the attack was a cakewalk. The Sokovia Accords prohibited the castle having energy canons or air defences like those employed by HYDRA. However, the accords were silent when it came to powerful relics.

Two large and modern sculptures stood in the courtyard. As soon as the MiGs were in range, the sculptures released a malevolent version of the spell Gandalf used to destroy the drones. Each plane instantly exploded after being struck green beam of sorcerous light. Wanda instinctively turned face as burning wreckage and fuel rained down on the forest. Fire broke out at various points as Sokovian ground forces commenced their assault.

Kasun grimly ordered an advance despite the loss of air support. He led the infantry on foot behind a line of ten T-72 main battle tanks. Tracer fire erupted through the trees before the tanks fired as one. Their shells proved effective destroying many of the defenders. Wanda went on the offensive as enemy fire slackened against her. She used her energy bolts to pick off robots at will. It appeared the battle had firmly swung in favour of the Sokovians. Robots took off from where they stood, swiftly repositioning themselves within the bunkers. Wanda's telepathy sensed no change in their rate of computations. Consequently, she had not the slightest hint the Sokovians were being drawn into a trap.

Middle-earth was replete with examples of magical runes invisible to the naked eye. The Blues had secretly inscribed some nefarious ones just months before the battle. As the Sokovians were halfway to the castle, the same Quenya silver markings lit up across the face of every bunker. An unseen wave of fear like that generated by the Nazgul rapidly washed downslope.

Wanda's power largely insulated her from its effects. She only watched on in horror as the infantry broke into a terrified rout. Nor were tank crews shielded by their vehicles. Many were paralysed in fear where they sat or tried reversing in panic. Watching from behind their bunker embrasures, the robots let rip with their cannons. Three tanks were immediately destroyed as their armour was punctured by multiple energy blasts. Up ahead, Wanda desperately cast a hex shield over herself and as many tanks she could. Unfortunately, there was no shielding her telepathy from the deaths of infantry who were ruthlessly mown down from behind. The forest was also now ablaze with the prevailing winds driving flames and smoke in the direction of the Sokovians. Wanda felt her efforts at rallying her country looked poised to end in catastrophe.

 _Take back your homeland._

Wanda remembered Thorin's words from her dream. If it was a message from beyond the grave, perhaps the King under the Mountain was also providing a reminder. Freeing Thorin of dragon-sickness didn't just allow him to rally Durin's Folk from the brink of disaster. For the last hour of his life, Thorin became a champion for all the Free Peoples. The Scarlet Witch had been given a similar opportunity to redefine her relationship with the world. Maybe she couldn't control others fear of her. But she could instead offer them hope. Just like her friend did before the Gates of Erebor.

 _To me, my kinsfolk!_

Sokovian forces halted at the Scarlet Witch's telepathic rallying cry. They turned around to witness a miraculous display of her power. The weight of enemy fire against Wanda's shield prevented her from turning it into a concussive wave. She instead transformed it into a fluid and ethereal cloud of mystic energy. The cloud gracefully expanded upslope covering the width of the enemy line. Robots found the cloud impervious to their energy weapons as Wanda poured every drop of her selflessness and gentle courage into it. The Blues' semi-autonomous enforcers were soon completely encased in their burning surrounds. None computed the Scarlet Witch's attack was a grander version of one she directed at Smaug.

The whole cloud began to swirl as Wanda weaved her energies throughout it. The forest fires she had trapped within began to rage and intensify. Heat and flames melded into destructive maelstrom. Several infantry needed to avert their gazes as the interior became incandescent. Wanda's eyes flashed as she ignited her psionic attack.

 _BOOM!_

Novi Grad was rocked by the sound of a tremendous explosion. Despite the curfew many residents rushed outside to see what had caused it. Expecting to see a cataclysm, they were instead left awestruck. The castle slope was covered in something resembling a dazzling cluster of red stars. It was the remnants of Wanda's energy cloud. Apart from kindling the explosion it had also absorbed the energy released, leaving Sokovian forces unharmed. All that remained of their enemies was a charred landscape with every robot and bunker shattered.

Kasun cautiously led the infantry towards the Scarlet Witch. Her telepathy sensed that caution was not driven by fear. It was more about trying to find something appropriate to say.

"You alright?" Kasun opted to be simple but sincere.

Wanda humbly nodded. It contrasted with the absolute confidence in her tone.

"Secure the castle," Wanda stated the way had been cleared. "Leave the Mustarmans to me."

She soared towards the castle as Kasun ordered ground forces, now freshly inspired, to advance in her wake. The Scarlet Witch had not forgotten what happened to the MiGs. A pair of sorcerous beams shot out at Wanda the moment she was over the courtyard. Having anticipated the attack, she effortlessly deflected them with a hex shield. Wanda unleased a telekinetic wave the moment she landed. Both sculptures were shattered in an instant.

Free of interference, Wanda stretched out with her telepathy – the other Strangers were in trouble.

* * *

As the battle outside the castle was taking place, a smaller but no less intense was being fought within the interior. The Omniter chamber was a kaleidoscope of spells as the Strangers and Blues duelled for supremacy.

Neither Morinehtar nor Strange had been able to penetrate the other's defences with their mystic weapons. The latter sought to break the deadlock by levitating into the air. Still grasping his sword in his right hand, Strange flung a mandala shield with his left. Morinehtar instantly blocked the shield's flight path with a portal that sent it flying into the depths of space. He followed up by demonstrating how much the Blues' powers of reality warping had improved since Middle-earth. Strange had to frantically dodge as a section of roof drove down on him like a piston. He needed to keep dodging as more such attacks followed.

With Strange distracted, Morinehtar lassoed the sorcerer's feet with an Eldritch whip. The former released a yelp of surprise as the latter pulled him downward. Strange was poised to be impaled upon a space shard when the Cloak of Levitation reacted. Morinehtar was caught unawares as the idiosyncratic relic rapidly twirled Strange mid-air. The speed and force dispersed the whip allowing Strange to deliver a flying kick to Morinehtar's face. The former Istari tumbled backwards as the sorcerer landed on his feet. Morinehtar was back standing the same moment Wanda's energy cloud ignited in the battle outside. The chamber shuddered to the sound of the deafening explosion. Strange saw his opponent's startled expression.

"Sounds like a relic," he dryly mocked Sokovia's Prime Minister. "The Exploding Plan of the Mustarmans."

Morinehtar seethed at this; vowing to feed the impertinent man's remains to Dormammu personally. As their clash resumed, the other duel had continued non-stop. Gandalf ignored the explosion with his heart telling him Wanda was still alive. Despite Romestamo's power, the White Wizard was still the better in melee. Romestamo grunted in pain as Glamdring slashed across his forearm for a flesh wound. More important was the clue the sword had provided. The Omniter released a tiny shower of sparks the moment Romestamo was wounded. Gandalf paused in shock – the Blues were using Sauron's methods in addition to Dormammu's.

"You imbued it with your lifeforce?!" Gandalf told Romestamo he was insane.

The wizard's momentary dismay allowed the President to regain the initiative. Romestamo cast a reality warping groundwave that surged forward. Gandalf was flung backward as the unnatural tremor struck him in a flash. Both Glamdring and his staff slipped from his grasp the moment he hit the ground. With Gandalf left sprawling, his observation moments ago got a delayed answer. Romestamo treated the wizard's outrage as if it were envy.

"We can now use our power without constraint," Romestamo boasted the Blues had freed themselves from the Valar's restrictions.

He attacked with a combination of Istari and Dark Dimension magic as if to prove his point. The sorcerous battle within the chamber had scattered it with debris. Romestamo telekinetically hurled a nearby desk bracket at his opponent. Gandalf reached for his staff but was too slow. Rather than striking with blunt force, Romestamo warped it around the wizard's neck instead. Gandalf began to choke as the metallic noose kept tightening.

"That's why you're about to die!" Romestamo vindictively added to his boast.

Part of wall opposite suddenly exploded in a burst of red energy. A chunk of masonry was psionically flung across the chamber. It struck Romestamo's head before he could react. Gandalf's noose fell from his neck as its summoner hit the floor. The wizard grabbed his sword and staff as the dust began to clear. His rescuer floated gracefully through the hole in the wall she had blasted open.

"Consider this your impeachment," Wanda acidly told the Blues.

Morinehtar was forced on the defensive as Wanda targeted him with an energy bolt. He hastily summoned a shield in each hand to deflect it and Strange's sword. Romestamo was back up courtesy of his Dark Dimension-enhanced strength. That same strength meant the chunk of masonry had only inflicted a slight gash. The wound to Romestamo's pride was far deeper. He angrily flung a mandala shield at the Scarlet Witch. Wanda was forced to land as the shield came within inches of taking off her head. Gandalf countered with a jet of flame from the tip of his staff. Romestamo warped the flame in Strange's direction. The sorcerer had to break off attacking Morinehtar was he was forced to evade. Morinehtar vaulted along the wall to be back alongside Romestamo. The Blues shared an understanding nod before ramping up schedule.

The Strangers were hurled together as Morinehtar warped the chamber around them. Romestamo simultaneously pointed his fingers at the Omniter as he mentally cast a spell. Their creation released an ominous hum. Wanda didn't need her telepathy to know what it meant.

"They've launched the Omniter!" she exclaimed as the Strangers got back on their feet.

Millions might have been warned about the Omniter. The Blues were nonetheless prepared to gamble millions more hadn't. Countless online users would be killed unawares within minutes. Gandalf felt the only way to save them was to beat the Blues at their own game.

"Stephen, Mirror Dimension," he urged the sorcerer to shift the battlefield.

"What?!" Strange thought the wizard had lost all sense.

" _Now!_ " Gandalf snapped.

There was a bright orange flash and sound of crunching glass as Strange obeyed. All combatants were now in the Mirror Dimension. The Blues thought their enemies had made a fatal mistake.

"Fools," Morinehtar openly sneered.

"The Mirror Dimension only increases our power," Romestamo spoke what Strange had been afraid of.

The Blues were ignorant they had walked into a trap. Wanda and Strange were equally unaware they had been provided a hint during the Strangers last battle in this dimension. Outside the physical world, the White Wizard was far less restricted in using his power.

"It also permits me to use all of mine!" Gandalf proclaimed of the Mirror Dimension.

Gandalf instantly transfigured into a blinding white presence. Romestamo and Morinehtar fell to their knees in agony, crippled by the divine light they once possessed themselves. Wanda thought she caught a glimpse of Gandalf's true form despite the glare. Under other circumstances, she would have wept a joyful tear as that form could only be described as angelic. The Blues attempted to move their trembling hands. They reminded Strange of his first attempts at using a sling ring.

"They're trying to escape!" he deduced aloud.

Strange countered with a recently learnt spell. A pair of red energy tendrils shot out of the sorcerer's fingertips. Morinehtar and Romestamo's escape attempt was foiled as the tendrils rapidly bound their hands. Gandalf spoke telepathically to finish the Blues off.

 _Wanda, like you did against Ultron._

The Scarlet Witch clearly understood his gentle instruction. Wounds instantly appeared on the Blues as Wanda tore their bodies apart at the molecular level. A grey mist poured out of the pair as their wounds expanded and multiplied. The mist represented the expulsion of their spirits as physical death approached. Morinehtar and Romestamo's bodies slumped to the ground, leaving behind two pale shrouded figures. Gandalf gave his former friends a silent and sad farewell before dispersing them.

Strange and Wanda were momentarily startled as the Blues were consumed in a bright flash accompanied by a thunderclap. The flash was gone in a heartbeat. Gandalf's transfiguration ended as he turned back to normal just as quickly. Despite wanting to ask the wizard several thousand questions, Strange knew something important had to be checked.

The Strangers exited the Mirror Dimension back into the chamber. Wanda also retrieved the Blues' remains with her telekinesis prior to Strange closing the portal. The final showdown in the Mirror Dimension had only lasted a minute despite it feeling like an eon. Upon looking at the Omniter, the Strangers sighed in relief. The device split in two the moment Morinehtar and Romestamo were vanquished. Dormammu had been prevented from consuming any more souls.

Wanda had retrieved the Blues so none could doubt their deaths nor what she had said about them. With the loss of their spirits, their corpses resembled those of Zealots with the accompanying facial decay and symbol. The Scarlet Witch still had a concern though. Saruman's physical death at Isengard had not meant the end of him.

"They can't come back, can they?" Wanda enquired of Gandalf.

Like with Saruman, the White Wizard took no satisfaction from the Blues' demise despite its necessity.

"No, Wanda," Gandalf sighed in assurance. "Their spirits are now powerless, forever lost in the Mirror Dimension."

Strange felt slightly chirpier about the situation.

"AKA it's over," he claimed victory for the Strangers.

The Scarlet Witch sensed something in the castle. She also recalled Strange's descriptions of Mordo.

"No," Wanda disagreed with the sorcerer. "Not until we pay the bill."

* * *

 **I suspect this chapter may have driven more than a few Tolkien purists into apoplexy. But I've really wanted Gandalf to let rip with his for once. This crossover's first scene was something of hint. The Mirror Dimension appealed as the ideal avenue to get around the restrictions placed on the Istari. Hardly any of the Free Peoples know about it let alone being able to see what takes place within. And Wanda and Strange are less likely to be thrown by the supernatural than the average person.**

 **A few hints of some powers Strange and Wanda used in** _ **IW**_ **.**

' **Goranic' was just to give a name to Barry Aird's character from** _ **AoU**_ **though 'Kasun' is my own creation. I also speculated Sokovia's military to be similarly equipped like other East European nations.**

 **As for Wanda surrendering, we'll just have to see what happens next chapter.**


	9. The Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

* * *

10/07/2018

 **Sammael29 & Nari Serpens**: As per Chapter 1, I always envisaged this being a short story.

 **Steve993:** Strange not being centre stage can be considered subtle character development. As the Ancient One said, it's not always about him.

 **Aragorn II Elessar** : 'H' also works with "Hail Hydra!"

 **Omegashark18** : I reckon Gandalf wouldn't try pushing his luck.

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – The Beginning of the End**

The Scarlet Witch had spoken a phrase of Mordo's. Though recognising it, Strange was confused as Gandalf at what she was specifically referring to.

"What bill, Wanda?" the wizard enquired.

The chamber began echoing to a multitude of footsteps. A combined squad of infantry and police led by Kasun and Goranic briskly walked up to the Strangers. Sokovian forces reached the castle minutes after Wanda joined the final confrontation against the Blues. A transport helicopter landed in the courtyard as Kasun's force stormed the main gate. Goranic and a police tactical unit poured out of the helicopter and linked up with the infantry. They encountered no resistance while hustling to the Omniter. Upon sensing their presence, the Scarlet Witch telepathically forewarned them what awaited.

"Not much doubt they were wizards," Kasun reacted to the Blues' remains.

"These are your friends?" Goranic nodded at Gandalf and Strange.

"We wouldn't have won without them." Wanda confirmed before strongly hinting, "And I'd appreciate no one else knowing they helped us."

Outside the chamber; Zrinka and Costel were the only Sokovians who knew about Wanda's companions. Gandalf and Strange were the one secret the Scarlet Witch desired to keep from the rest. Her fellow Strangers preferred to operate on Earth behind the scenes.

"That depends," Kasun cautioned. "Are you going to turn yourself in?"

Strange and Gandalf were stunned with the latter also interpreting it as a threat. Fuming, the White Wizard stepped forward to impose himself between the Scarlet Witch and captivity. Wanda moved to spare the squad from his potential wrath. She instantly stopped Gandalf with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Gandalf," Wanda assured him. "I gave my word."

The remaining Stranger felt this bargain wasn't even close to a fair exchange.

"Wanda's just saved the world and putting her back behind bars?!" Strange was incredulous at her fellow Sokovians' ingratitude.

Goranic's reply was dripping with irony, "Oh, we've a very special cell in mind…"

* * *

Sunrise saw Sokovia free of the Blue Wizards but not their legacy. Sokovia's Emergency Management Committee existed to co-ordinate government operations in the event of a crisis. Because of last night's assassinations, the Committee was exclusively comprised of mid-ranking civilian and military officials (including Goranic and Kasun). Those officials faced a daunting challenge.

The Battle of the Omniter had resulted in relatively few casualties and property damage. Public confidence in Sokovian institutions had been shattered though. The threat of economic bust also loomed due to heavy selling of Sokovian bonds on international markets. It would take more than technical expertise to get through the crisis. Sokovia desperately needed a figurehead to rally around as rebuilding took place.

All national elected representatives had been killed. Under state of emergency laws, however, the Committee could fill those vacancies by appointment. Any Sokovian could be appointed to serve the remainder of the deceased office-holder's term. Appointments included for the office of President. The Committee believed it imperative to fill the vacancy left by Romestamo as quickly as possible. And there was only one candidate they had in mind. That candidate took the oath of office the morning after the Blues' defeat. The ceremony was held in the foyer of the presidential palace in front of a small crowd.

"I, Wanda Magda Maximoff, hereby swear as President of the Republic of Sokovia to uphold its constitution; defend its people; protect their freedoms; and to always put their needs ahead of my own."

Zrinka and Costel were among those present who applauded as the Scarlet Witch shook hands with the judge who delivered the oath. The 'plea bargain' Wanda had agreed to ensured Strange and Gandalf were kept out the public eye. Her unusual detention as per the Sokovia Accords also left the US Secretary of State fuming. Ross's demand that the Scarlet Witch be sent back to the Raft had not just been rejected by the Committee. As Sokovia's head of state, Wanda now had diplomatic immunity from arrest outside the country. Not even the hawkish Ross was prepared to violate longstanding international law just to get her.

Wanda still disliked public speaking. All Presidents were nonetheless expected to say a few words after their inauguration. She took a deep breath before addressing those present as well as millions watching around the world. President Maximoff kept true to herself by speaking from the heart.

"A dear friend showed me even the smallest person can make the world a better place," Wanda obliquely referred to Bilbo. "Greatness doesn't come from wealth or power but our willingness to help one another. The future of our homeland depends on us working together. Not as normals and enhanceds, but as Sokovians."

Sokovia's new President soon made to the office wing. The Scarlet Witch quickly learned why Goranic had called it a 'cell'. According to her executive assistant, Wanda's first day on the job was already shaping up as a long one.

"The management committee wants to meet with you at ten," Zrinka said walking alongside her friend. "They need you to sign the order ending the state of emergency."

"Mm," Wanda immediately agreed. Even as President, caring for others was still front of her thoughts. "I want to meet the relatives of those killed – privately," she insisted. "What about benefits?"

"Families of top officials all get a special annuity." Zrinka prefaced before grimly advising, "As for the rest, pensions barely cover the cost of living."

The Scarlet Witch witnessed first-hand Smaug's devastation of Lake-town. They eventually received a share of the dragon's treasure to rebuild their lives. Survivors in Sokovia deserved a fair share of Blues' treasure.

"Freeze the Mustarmans' assets," Wanda directed. "We'll divide what we can among the less fortunate."

Zrinka scribbled it down as an agenda item for the committee meeting. Domestic affairs weren't the only thing requiring the President's attention.

"A few world leaders have already called in," Zrinka began.

"I take Ross isn't one them?" Wanda wryly guessed.

Her executive released a knowing laugh.

"No," Zrinka confirmed before continuing, "But T'Challa did. He wants to know if we're interested in hosting an outreach centre."

Wanda was genuinely surprised. Only one such centre currently existed.

"Like the one in Oakland?" she checked just to be sure.

Zrinka nodded before revealing the Black Panther's offer was laced with some of his regal wit.

"He also said not to worry about your psychology course," she relayed it. "He wants to give you Wakanda's first honorary degree."

"Well, sure beats doing exams," Wanda blithely commented.

Both women smiled at this as they reached their destination. The Scarlet Witch opened one of the double doors to what had been Romestamo's office. Waiting inside were Strange and Gandalf. They had been waiting to farewell the Scarlet Witch.

"I need five minutes alone," Wanda requested the Strangers not be disturbed.

"Sure," Zrinka understood before giving the others a friendly nod.

The Strangers started talking after Wanda closed the door behind her. Their leader opened with a musical reference.

"Hail to the Chief," Strange casually addressed the President.

"I was thinking it Feels So Good," Wanda knowingly countered.

The White Wizard guessed it was by-play by their tone.

"I hope that's how you do feel, Wanda," Gandalf commenced goodbyes. "You deserve no less."

"And thanks for keeping our involvement under wraps," Strange referred to Wanda's plea bargain.

"The last thing I want is Ross coming after you," she confided one of her concerns.

"He'll fall a very long way if he tries," Strange darkly hinted.

Wanda didn't want the sorcerer to explain his vague but ominous threat.

"Whatever the case, you'll always be welcome here," she told her fellow Strangers before reflecting on her new role. "Truth is, part of me wishes you could stay."

Her words reminded Gandalf of one great mystery about the race of Men. When it came to wielding power, the greatest self-doubt was often in those least likely to abuse it.

"You and Pietro knew how to lead others well before gaining your powers," Gandalf reminded the President.

"That was a protest movement, Gandalf," Wanda believed it was no comparison. "Now I have to lead the country."

The White Wizard's belief in the non-randomness of events was as strong as ever.

"Neither of those represent mere chance, Wanda," Gandalf gave his final counsel to her for now. "You were always _meant_ to lead your homeland. Just like you were meant to help the dwarves reclaim theirs." The wizard humbly concluded, "In Sokovia's dark hour, you showered it with light. And I'm certain Pietro and Thorin would feel especially proud of you."

Wanda firmly embraced him in understanding. The bright remains from her psionic detonation inspired Sokovians in the face of despair. Just like she had given hope to so many others during her adventures with the Company. Gandalf was right – there was more the Scarlet Witch than even she herself imagined. It was a quality shared by a mutual friend of theirs.

"Can you please bring Bilbo next time you visit?" Wanda hoped it wasn't too much to request.

"I'll see what I can do, Wanda." Gandalf promised with a soft smile.

Their embraced ended as the President farewelled her other companion over the last two days.

"You going to be ok?" the doctor in Strange checked.

Wanda remembered something Captain America once told her.

"I'm home," she confidently assured.

Strange and Wanda shared their first hug. It wasn't just friendship. Both found the relationship they had developed a bit like having a sibling again. After loosening themselves, Strange opened a portal to the Sanctum Sanctorum. Gandalf gave a final display of magic before departing with the sorcerer.

"Remember what I said about us not being allowed to completely forget you?" he reminded Wanda about her departure from Middle-earth.

The Scarlet Witch simply nodded.

"Well, young Tilda grew up to be renowned author of children's fairy tales," Gandalf revealed about Bard's youngest.

The wizard immediately pulled out a small leather-bound book from his sleeve before giving it to Wanda. Strange followed Gandalf through the portal before closing it behind them. Alone, Wanda opened Tilda's book. She found the dedication after the first couple of pages.

 _For my daughter,_

 _Wanda._

Wanda's eyes moistened. As Bilbo would put it, Tilda's heart never forgot the Scarlet Witch even if her mind had. The emotional realisation almost overwhelmed the President's telepathy. She suddenly sensed a familiar presence close-by.

 _Vision?_ Wanda mentally asked to be sure.

The android phased through one of the office walls. Had he been intangibly hiding while Wanda was farewelling the other Strangers? If so, why didn't she immediately sense his presence? Was it magic? Did Vision's surprise visit represent Strange's parting gift to her?

"What…what are you doing here?" Wanda tried articulating the questions racing in her mind.

"Two things," Vision answered. "I first wanted to return this." The android opened his hand to reveal the White Gems of Lasgalen. Vision paused a moment before adding, "The second was to ask if I could stay."

Wanda granted his request with a beatific smile.

* * *

A former resident of Shady Acres Care Home had recently escaped to a remote part of Norway. Odin Borson was seated on a rock atop a cliff overlooking the Norwegian Sea. The All-Father compared the view with his personal situation. With his life approaching its end, he faced an ocean of uncertainty. Odin wasn't afraid for himself. Like many dying mortals did, he was more concerned about his legacy. Ragnarok could potentially result in the end of countless more realms than just Asgard.

Odin suddenly released he wasn't alone. An unexpected visitor stood facing him just a few feet away. Was it a sign of his failing senses he hadn't noticed the visitor before now?

"Hail, Odin All-Father!" Gandalf respectfully acknowledged him. "King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms."

Odin surmised his distraction was more due to being lost in thought. He knew his visitor by reputation.

"White Wizard," Odin wearily sighed. "I suspect we're both old enough to know the true meaning of titles."

Gandalf knowingly chuckled.

"You're right, Odin," he accepted the All-Father's offer to call him by name.

The wizard sat down next to Odin on the same rock. Two days ago, Gandalf hinted at a similar meeting like his one with Fury. As luck would have it, Strange had recently pinpointed the All-Father's location. The sorcerer was planning to personally question Odin about his intentions. However, Gandalf's connection with Thor made him the ideal intermediary.

"I regret circumstance has prevented us meeting before now," Odin said. "I've wanted to thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Gandalf innocently enquired.

"For guiding Thor in my absence," Odin replied matter-of-fact.

The White Wizard correctly heard the sub-text.

"As always, you are Thor's hero," Gandalf gently assured. "Being away from Asgard hasn't diminished his pride in being your son. Nor will he forsake your people when the time comes."

"Yet of all my children," Odin pondered, "he's the one I'm least worried about."

Gandalf had witnessed similar angst in numerous mortal rulers. Odin's reign would be recorded as one of Asgard's greatest. Yet all its glories and accomplishments meant nothing to him now. The only thing Odin cared about at the end of his life was if he'd been a good father. Gandalf took a deep breath before answering.

"I don't know if anything can be done for Hela," he sombrely began.

The All-Father was stunned. He'd kept Hela's existence secret even from her siblings.

"How do you know about her?" Odin quietly gasped.

"I was shown many things before being told to complete my task," Gandalf obliquely referred to his own experience with death. "Upon returning, Hela will be bent on conquest," the wizard resumed speaking about the goddess. "Death is the only thing that gives her meaning."

"I set her on that path," a guilty Odin admitted.

Gandalf could not overlook the truth.

"Yes, you did," he intoned. "But it was her choice to keep following it. Even if that path ends in her own destruction."

Odin inwardly grieved over his eldest child. The pair of them would never be reconciled. The All-Father still clung to the tiny hope he could with his remaining child.

"And Loki?" Odin simply asked.

"You know the truth as well as I," Gandalf adopted a more compassionate tone. "With Loki, it was never about your throne."

"I've always loved him," Odin argued.

Gandalf didn't doubt the All-Father's sincerity. He nonetheless found it remarkable Frigga easily understood something that kept eluding her husband. At heart, the God of Mischief was an emotionally sensitive individual.

"When was the last time you _told_ him," Gandalf advised such individuals often needed to hear they were loved.

Odin silently contemplated this a few moments. It caused him to voice his deepest fear.

"Ragnarok is nigh," Odin began. "But I doubt I'll see my sons before then."

"Have faith, my friend," Gandalf told him otherwise. "Your sons need you to believe in them if they are to prevail." The wizard paused before looking at the ocean with a troubled frown, "Though I fear Ragnarok may only be the beginning."

Both participants in the conversation had a habit of speaking in riddles. That habit played no small part in allowing them to understand each other's. That included riddles about the most destructive force in the universe.

"I remember finding the Aether inside Jane Foster," Odin prefaced before shaking his head in regret. "I should've realised something greater was afoot."

"Most of the Infinity Stones have recently been recovered," Gandalf believed the situation was beyond self-recrimination. "My heart tells me it's no coincidence. If the Valar permitted, I'd accompany Thor on his quest to learn more."

"He set out of his own accord?" Odin asked with faint pride. After receiving a similar nod, he apologised, "I only know as much as you, Gandalf. If someone's behind the stones' resurfacing, we face an even more dangerous threat than Hela."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Gandalf grimly agreed.

The pair resumed gazing at the ocean.

"At least our conversation proves one thing," the All-Father observed.

"What's that?" Gandalf asked.

Odin responded with a rare display of humour, "Even the very wise cannot see all ends."

* * *

Strange closed the portal to Norway the moment Gandalf stepped back into the New York Sanctum. The pair of them were alone in the foyer.

"So?" Strange simply asked about Odin.

"He just wants to be left alone," Gandalf summarised.

"Did he say anything about my offer?"

"He asked me to thank you," the wizard confirmed. "But he doesn't want to return to Asgard for the time being."

"Is it about him finding peace?" Strange speculated about the reason.

"I think he will now." Gandalf enigmatically reflected before changing topics. "Is Wong not joining us?"

"He's an apology – library duties," Strange explained. "But he asked me to give you this."

The sorcerer repeated one of Gandalf's tricks from earlier. He summoned an old book out of thin air before passing it to the wizard.

"It's a copy of _The Ten Thousand Gates_ ," Strange said its title. "It'll teach you how to summon portals."

Confusion momentarily hijacked Gandalf's feelings of gratitude.

"Won't I need a sling ring?" he pointed out.

The Ancient One's writings included descriptions of the wizard's relics.

"Narya should be fine," Strange assured.

"Who'd have thought I'd need to wear it again?" Gandalf mused aloud before stating, "I'll start practicing as soon as I return."

Taking it as his cue, Strange opened a portal to Valinor. The White Wizard resumed a previous conversation prior to returning.

"I recall what you said about Johanna," Gandalf said. "She may have extended her life to rebuild the order. Personally, I think it was more about waiting until she found a new Sorcerer Supreme."

The thinly veiled compliment caused Strange to briefly blush. He tried to friendlily even the score.

"Until our next meeting?" Strange knowingly asked as they shook hands.

"Indeed," Gandalf smiled in recognition.

The wizard turned to leave.

"Oh, before you go!" Strange suddenly remembered something. "You're friends with Thor. What if he comes looking for his father? Any advice how I should handle it?"

Gandalf's eyes twinkled, "You might want to offer him something other than tea."

* * *

 **Several readers picked the Mustarmans were the Blue Wizards. But President Wanda Maximoff can be considered the real plot twist in this crossover. While the Sokovia Accords allow unregistered enhanceds to be indefinitely detained, it doesn't specify where. Apart from legal loopholes I was also influenced by the 'House of M' storyline. And, no, it doesn't mean she's going to warp reality in the MTCU via a nervous breakdown.**

 **Gandalf and Odin's catch-up is partly about leading into** _ **Ragnarok**_ **. But it was also something of an indulgence on my part. I really wanted the MTCU to have at least one scene between two of my favourite actors.**

 _ **The Ten Thousand Gates**_ **and re-use of Narya can certainly be considered non-canonical. On the other hand, 'Magda' is a nod to Earth-616. And I felt Wanda deserved some happy closure with Tilda.**

 **Thanks again for all your reviews and messages during this crossover. To paraphrase a saying about books, FanFiction is a magical portal to another dimension.**


	10. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I have no creative rights over the characters and places you can identify in this story and have no way profited from this work.

10/07/2018

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – Epilogue**

The Silmaril upon Eärendil's brow shone brightly as he steered the _Vingolit_ across the heavens of Arda. As the magical ship approached the Door of Night, the slayer of Ancalagon was unexpectedly threatened for the first time in millennia.

The fabric of space ripped open above the _Vingolit's_ bow. Eärendil unsheathed his shining blade as an intruder stepped on deck.

"Identify yourself!" Eärendil fearlessly demanded.

The intruder gave a bone-chilling grin.

"I'm Thanos of Titan," he declared before glancing at the Silmaril. "That's a nice gem…"

* * *

 **Next crossover exposes the MTCU to our favourite Mad Titan's special brand of fun.**


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